MANA- The Vale is lifted (a RWBY Fanfiction)
by Etherway
Summary: Having finally making it into Beacon and the final step of his journey within reach. Alden is content training alongside his team. However a strange event occurs. With Ozpin scared of him and the huntsman academy doing nothing to protect him, Alden must turn to the few people he can trust and go in search for the truth. For at this school of huntsman... he is the one being hunted.
1. Chapter 1: The Shining beacon

**Volume 1: A Beacon of Hope**

**Alden, like every other huntsman and huntress before him is ecstatic to be accepted into the coveted Beacon Academy, wide eyed and naïve, he is overjoyed to have reached the final hurdle on his journey to become a huntsman. Join the newly formed team MANA as they dive headfirst into their training. But as they are seemingly followed by abnormal events and dangerous strangers, they learn that maybe becoming huntsman and huntresses may be stranger, and far, **_**far**_** more dangerous than they first thought.**

Vol 1 Ch 1: The Shining Beacon

Alden could see a flash of electricity, a moment later the static whir originating from his sister's weapon grazed past his ear as he desperately rolled out the way, digging his knee into the dirt to stop himself from over balancing and collapsing to the floor. His eyes snapped to the left to see the crackling edge of his near impending doom, swinging down towards him…

He raised his arms up, arcing his wrists in so the blades protruding from them crossed in a large X and caught the offending item before it could reach his head. Lightning arced off it, grounding onto his own weapons but not down into his own skin. He smirked and shot his leg out and wrapped his ankle around his opponents and yanked her off he feet. She fell but quickly jabbed her staff into the ground, holding her weight up. She then pushed with her hands to right herself and then jumped, arcing high into the air and pushed her weight backwards so she swung out of reach of his own weapons, landing with the finesse of a Gazelle as she skidded to a stop.

The air seemed to still, as if the very wind waited with bated breath watching over the dual. In his mid-fight adrenaline rush, Alden's senses were on overdrive, he could feel the drop of sweat cruising down past his eye, he could hear the pants from his sister as they circled each other, and beyond that the angry yap of a Wolf disciplining a cub. The smell of the oak trees waving in the wind. His sight tunnelled back to the objective at hand.

Mary Cirq coiled up like a spring ready to pounce, a confident smirk dominated her feature, her staff, dubbed Fulmen was raised above her head, electricity lazily coiling and arcing around the tips. Alden himself rested his weight on his back foot and raising his ankle, getting ready to counter charge.

A clattering sound on his wrists sounded the rotation of the dust chambers of his gauntlets and a click sounded the insertion of a dust cartridge. The medium length blades protruding from the front of the gauntlets suddenly flared up in a coiled burst of flame, the ignition so dramatic that the weapons were named after it: Impetus Tempestatis, more commonly known as Whirlwind or Tempest.

The flare seemed to set the pair off and they sprang towards each other, both swinging their weapons. The clang of metal striking metal at such velocities hurt their ears as sparks flew off their weapons as they deflected off each other, both combatants spinning to try and get a second hit in. Mary winced from the heat of Tempest's blades as they past mere inches away from her knuckles, but she grit her teeth and press her attack, her staff a blurred whirlwind as she tried to land blow after blow on her older brother. Alden pressed to the backfoot was working incredibly hard to stop the bone jarring strikes against him, constantly stepping back to try and get his sister to over balance. His chance came mere moments later, Mary stumbled on a slightly upturned sod of dirt. Alden's left blade retracted, clearing the way for a barrel at the end of the gauntlets, it fired a bright blue stream of hard light dust, wrapping around the bottom of Fulmen. He pulled and forced Mary to let go with one hand rendering the weapon virtually useless. He pressed forward to point-blank range to capitalise on this newfound weakness. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled to destabilise her before bringing his blade up. Before he could fully accomplish this however Mary had kicked backwards, knocking his right leg out causing them both to collapse to the dirt. They both scrabbled to bring any usable weapon to bear.

Alden whipped tempest's blade around to lay across Mary's neck, only to find that she had reached around to her lower back and had unsheathed and deployed her back up dagger, and it's point was resting very uncomfortably at the base of his own neck. Both looked at the opposite's weapon in surprise, panting heavily from the fatigue.

Laughter could be heard from several feet away, both heads turned to see their father leaned up against the door, chuckling to himself at the resolution of his offspring's sparing match. He clapped a few times before pushing himself upright and walked back into the house.

The siblings pulled themselves apart and sorely got to their feet.

"That was a good one." Alden panted, his hands resting on his knees and he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow. The pair had been going at it for over an hour now, and their Auroras were more depleted by exertion than actually taking hits.

"Tell me about it." Mary huffed as she stretched her back, sighing when she heard a pop. Once they had gotten the breathing back under some semblance of control, they made their way across the battered field towards their house.

The Cirq's had lived on the Kingdom of Vale's western island of Patch for several generations and were amongst the original settlers. The island was relatively small, mostly uninhabited compared to its size and for all intents and purposes, shouldn't exist. The Cirq's humble and lonely abode was one of the few reminders of that fact. Unlike the rest of the Kingdom's Patch didn't have street names, or any organisation for that fact, only the basic infrastructure, one of the best rated combat schools on remnant due to the population it recruits from, and a small dockyard to help ferry trade and people to and from the island and the Kingdom at large.

Patch unlike its much larger counterpart had no natural defence to speak of and was completely open to the elements and still not completely free of the Grimm that stalked its woodlands. Much like Mountain Glenn as well as the other kingdoms failed attempts at a large-scale general expansion Patch had two crucial details which allowed it to prosper. The first was that it was generally small scale, barely a village could be said to exist on its shore, with more the entire island existing as one entity. The second was that most of its inhabitants were huntsman and huntresses, If someone was exploring within the slightly denser populated portion of the island, and came across a creature of Grimm, then they were only a shout of help away from a fully armed huntsman or huntress living nearby.

Tempest's blades had folded down inside his gauntlets, and when he got to the door even the gauntlet began shunting down towards his wrists, leaving behind a thick silver bracelet. Alden pushed the door open and stepped inside, holding it open for Mary to follow.

"Had fun?" Their mother asked, hands covered in soap as she was busy washing up, their father standing next to her unfurling a tea towel.

"It's getting harder now, Mary's improved massively, it may get hard to keep up with her rate." Alden said, taking a freshly dried coffee mug from his dad and stored it in the cupboard above the oven.

Their parents: Ogora and Marcus had met each other when they had been assigned to the same team when they went through Beacon, a relatively common occurrence, Marcus had grown up on Patch and when he invited Ogora to his parent's house half way around the island she fell in love with the place, and it's where they had lived essentially ever since.

Mary budged him over so she could put another cup away and Alden went back to get more stuff. Soon they were finished, and the family navigated the bright wooden hall of their home to the living room. The holo-television was quietly playing on the wall.

"…revealed that a Faunus civil rights demonstration will take place at the end of the week, the organisers of the event declared…" Ogora switched the channel to something a bit more light-hearted.

Alden walked over to a cabinet by the door and opened it. Inside at the top were two weapons, a fairly large cannon on the left and a long spear on the right, Ogora's and Marcus' on the bottom were various "sockets for his own and Mary's weapons. There was a hissing sound at his wrists as the chambers opened up to allow for their removal. Just as he removed one, he was interrupted by his mother.

"Alden, hang on." Alden froze holding of his gauntlets and looked over his shoulder.

"Do you mind seeing if you can find a couple handfuls of Bisporus? I was going to use them for dinner but we're out."

"yeah sure." Alden said slipping the bracelet ack on with a click as the chamber secured itself. "Do you need them now?"

"Umm…" she hummed thinking, "Yeah, we get started nowish, should be done by… half five-ish? Should leave you time to check the port this afternoon." Alden looked in the clock as he did his own calculation, it should take less than an hour, add the hour and a half to cook, should lave enough time for this evening.

"Yep, sounds like a plan." Alden said, spun on his heels and walked back the way he had came from, teasingly flicking Mary's hair as he walked past, causing her to let out an agitated huff as she glared at his back as he walked through the kitchen and opened the door. "Back in a bit!" he called over his shoulder before stepping outside and paused to stretch his arms over his head for a second.

He looked up, the sun was slowly heading on it's downward track across the sky. He had about an hour in the forest before it got dark, he shouldn't need that long. Alden cut across the small field out the back of his house and wondered into the treeline beyond. Once he was under the canopy of the trees het took in a big lungful of air through his nose, the different smells of the forest filling providing good company. He could hear the rustling of a badger nearby. To his left he could see a young deer calf playing in the leaves, kicking the up with its hind legs. Its mother staring wearily at Alden from its position laying down nearby.

Alden bowed low in a sign of respect and slowly moved off to the side and not making eye contact, but looking at her lower legs to show he wasn't a threat; he didn't want to get into a confrontation with any of the wildlife. He walked a little way further into the forest before finally sighting his goal: a clump of the common mushrooms he was looking for, Pale in texture, Bisporus could be found pretty much everywhere apart from Mantle.

Alden carefully pried the mushrooms from the soil, carful not to pull the heads off the stalks. Soon he had a handful and place them in a small bag. Though he thought they could probably do with a few more. He spotted another cluster by the stump of a tree nearby. He walked across and kneeled down and started to gather them up. When he was nearly done, he heard a grumble form directly behind him. He whirled around, Tempest deploying and the triggers folding down and barrels extending. He was expecting to see a block hulking form, with the crimson glaring eyes of a Beowolf. Instead he was staring into the Auburn eyes of a very shocked deer calf. It had gotten curious and had decided to approach and see what he was doing. It's mother had shot to her feet and warbled a warning, scuffing its hoof in the dirt.

Alden very slowly lowered his arm and Tempest folded back. He very carefully reached into his bad and produced a mushroom and gently offered it to the calf. It slowly approached, no longer sensing any danger form him and sniffed the mushroom, before delicately picking it off his hand with it's teeth before happily munching on it. He slowly reached out his hand and scratched it behind the ear, it tilted its head into his hand and snorted in satisfaction.

The calf's mother had calmed down but was still eyeing him with alarm. Alden took out another mushroom and gave it to the calf, "Sorry for scaring you." He said as smoothly as he could to keep it calm, he then patted it on the head and slowly moved away from it, bowing again to its mother before heading back the way he came.

When his eyes rested on the wooden house again, he could see grey smoke wafting slowly out the top of the chimney, he could see his parents through the window, happily dancing around each other as they were preparing dinner.

Alden pushed open the door and entered the kitchen, resting his bag on the table. He reached inside and grabbed a handful and washed them under the tap before placing them on the chopping board his dad was standing by. Marcus twirled the knife in his hand, before quickly cutting the freshly gathered produce in half. Alden returned to his bag and deposited the rest of his haul into a beautifully crafted pine box, packed with straw to help keep them fresh.

Ogora added the mushrooms to the simmering pan she was standing by slowly stirring with a wooden spoon. Mary was leaning up against the doorframe, slowly flicking through the pages of a book. Alden slipped past her and quickly glanced at the television as he went, he saw a small icon of a letter at the corner of the screen. He felt the small fresh of anxiety swell up in his chest. He fought to keep it down, it was possible that the particular mail and arrived today, but not likely, he pressed the icon to read the information about it: it was being held at the port, he would have to go down there after dinner. He turned right and ascended the staircase to the upper floor, running his hand along the banister and rails as he headed for his room.

Alden's bedroom was dominated by the bed, resting against the wall in the middle of the room, the room was lit by a large window facing the setting sun. just before that was a large spruce desk with various sheets of paper and scattered doodles. He sat down at the desk and tapped his fingers across the surface surface watching the horizon slowly turn yellow.

He shivered slightly as the afternoon sun was no longer gifting as much warmth. He walked over to the wardrobe on the other side of his room and opened a door and reached in to pull out a dark green jumper. He slipped it over his head as he walked back to head downstairs. Though as he was trying to fit his arms through, he felt the sleeve knock something to the floor. Once his head popped out the correct hole, he looked down at the floor to see the old stuffed toy that was resting on a small bedside table. Given to him by his parents at birth, Alden was strangely attached the object. It was a black dog, with small glass beads for eyes and a small red ribbon around it. He picked it up and carefully placed it where it began.

He walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Ogora was pouring the mixture that was in the pan into a tray and smothered a layer of mashed potatoes on top before crumbling some cheese above that before sliding the tray into the oven. Marcus was busy clearing up, stacking up cleaned pans and stowing them away.

"Alden, can you help Mary? I think she's got stuck on one of the traps." Ogora said. Alden looked out the window, he could see Mary angrily staring at a floating rabbit hanging from a tree at the edge of the forest. Alden grabbed his shoes from behind the door and slipped them on before jogging over the field.

"What's up?" He asked as he reached Mary. She sighed and gestured to the piece of string.

"I tried to loosen it, but I just broke it." She said. Alden stepped forward to examine it, he could see the rock counterweight had fallen to the floor.

"The trap worked alright though?" he asked, following the various knots in the string.

"Yeah, it worked fine. Rabbit didn't feel anything." She said. I just messed up trying to release it. Alden nodded and suddenly noticed where a knot had been released where it shouldn't have been.

"You pulled this one." Alden said. Mary looked over his shoulder and swore.

"it should have been the one above." Alden hummed in confirmation and held the rabbit by its hind legs before pulling on the correct knot and the loop came loose. He laid the body on the floor, and quickly retied the trap. He picked the rabbit back up and he and Mary headed back towards the house. He hung the rabbit's corpse on a small rack just outside the door, he would butcher to tomorrow. He subconsciously ran his finger in a T shaper, along it's brow ad between its eyes. In general folk law the "hunters mark" was to apologise to the creature's spirit and asking it not to bring Grimm to hunt them in return. Nowadays it was only seen as superstition, but seasoned and experienced hunters (not the warrior kind) would often still be found doing it as a sign of respect for the animal's life they had taken.

They walked through the now empty kitchen. And into the sitting room where their parents had switched the television back to the news. Alden instantly recognised the several spires of Beacon academy that dominated the screen.

"Students across the kingdom anxiously await to see if they have been accepted into Beacon." The reporter was saying, "The letters were released today so from here on out students can expect to receive a letter from the academy to see their results over the next few days, so from me and everyone else at the VNNS we wish you all good luck." The picture then snapped back to a man in a news studio and they began talking about a new library that was opening up within the city.

"They may have arrived already if they prioritised getting letters out to Patch." Ogora said laying up against Marcus' side on one of the old red sofas.

"Hopefully," Alden said as he curled up into the corner of the other sofa in the room, "I'm getting tired of waiting."

"Won't be long now." Marcus said.

"I just can't help but feeling like I won't get in even after all that work."

"Alden, with how good you are, Beacon will _not _be denying you. Trust me." Mary said, looking up from her book.

"You say that for yourself next year when you apply." Alden said.

"Oh, trust me, I won't, don't you worry." She retorted. Alden smiled and gently shoved her shoulder. She smiled up at him, before looking back at her book. "Darn it Alden, you made me lose my page!"

Ogora closed her eyes for a second. "two hundred and forty-three" She said looking over towards them.

"Thanks mum." Mary said, quickly flicking through pages, smiling once she recognised her spot. "You're the best, have I ever told you that?"

"You really shouldn't abuse your mother's semblance for such simple things." Marcus said.

"nuh-ah Mary didn't ask mum to do that, that was her choice." Alden said, nodding over enthusiastically." Alden and Mary secretly fist bumped. Their parents just shook their heads but smiled.

An hour passed and the Cirqs had assembled round the table as everything was dished out, everyone licked their lips hungrily as the meat and mushroom pie was laid before them.

The sound of cutlery clinking soon filled the room.

"So Tai said Signal was planning their own mini, in house Vytal festival this year, juts made out of people in our year." Mary said

"I suppose that's not a bad idea, you'll have to wait a few years for the next one to come around." Marcus said.

"Yeah, because this one sis old enough to participate this year." Mary said, while gesturing to Alden with her head.

"That's _if_ Whatever team I end up with qualifies for it, there's no guarantee."

"Isn't he technically _not_ allowed to tell you what you're doing in school yet?" Ogora asked.

"Ummgh" Mary grunted with her mouth full.

"Nope, he's not. But he's Tai and I met him at the port this morning getting that parcel, and I asked him if we were doing anything fun."

Marcus sniggered, "Yep, that's Tai all right."

Alden was hurrying to finish up his dinner, impatient at how time was so slowly creeping by, like a carrot on a stick.

"Impatient Alden? You're about to shuffle off the seat!" Ogora said smiling at him. "Go on, if it will stop the waiting, you can go now, we'll clean up."

"No, nah, its fine, I can finish." He replied. They stood and started to wash everything and put it away. Admit the clanking of plates and cutlery a faint rumbling sound could be heard from outside the house.

Ogora looked at Alden. "Oh, so you were just being lazy then?"

Alden smiled sheepishly, "I didn't ask for it?" which came out more of a question.

Ogora smiled and sighed.

"That girl is too nice to you." She said as Alden was already out the kitchen, slipping his shoes on and grabbing a jacket.

"I'll be back soon!" He called and dashed out the front door."

The front of their house did not have a clearing like the back, and so he was immediately within the confines of the forest. What dominated his attention though was the familiar yellow motorcycle, purring on the road just outside.

"That was a record time." Yang said as Alden approached. She had removed her sunglasses and hung them from the pocket in her jacket.

"Well what can I say? It's a big day." Alden said, Yang grimaced, no one was impervious to the anxiety caused by those dammed letters. Alden swung his leg over the back of Bumblebee and gripped hard to secure himself onto the bike. Yang twisted the throttle, the engine growled and Alden lifted his feet to secure them to the sides as they accelerated, guided by the small stream of daylight that was slowly fading from the exposed treeline of the road.

Alden leaned slightly to the side to see past the blonde mess of Yang's hair. Watching the trees go by at a near blur, noting the occasional house as they passed, that was the Robinson's, that was the Thurlow's one of the few families that didn't have a hunter lineage, there was the Woodcock's the twins that lived there were in Yang and Alden's year.

Yang turned her head to look back at him. "So how confident are you?" she called over her shoulder.

"Relatively, just don't want to get my hopes up just to be let down." Alden replied. He felt like the entrance exams went well, especially the combat exam, but everyone did well in the combat exam, that was the whole point of them being there in the first place.

"Same here, just want to get this over with now. They better be there."

"Maybe they were just setting up a kingdom wide prank?"

"I don't think they would want a few thousand angry hunter students blitzing the place."

"True, but it would be a hell of a lot of fun."

Yang looked back over her shoulder again, raising her eyebrow at him. Before shaking her head and smiling and turning back to keep an eye on where they were going. Soon they were passing the single large spire of Signal academy. From the outside the grounds seemed eerily quiet, they had spent most of their lives training within those boundaries, and most of their generation as still trying to get out of the habit of going to a school on their own island.

IT wasn't long before they had left Signal behind and the large expanse of sea between Patch and the rest of Vale could be seen, the large glittering reflections of the windows could be seen even from this distance. Sprawled out before them was the largest industrial centre on the island: the docks. The landing area on the island became so important to the early settler's survival that it soon became the administrative home of the island. If you needed anything you couldn't find, gather or make yourself then you went to the docks. It was here were the only shops existed on the island as well as doctor's surgeries and the post office, which was their destination.

Bumblebee approached the main gate, the large metal grilled structure slowly skirted to the side to let them past. As Bumblebee rumbled through, they waved up to the tower overlooking the gate where Jackie was on shift at this time and had let them through without hassle.

Yang leaned the bike into a turn and dropped the speed. Passing by a few shops and people as they moved about. They headed towards the water where the red building of the post office was. Bumblebee soften backed to a purr as they pulled up outside, before sputtering and dying as Yang turned it off. They climbed off and walked towards the door, waving to a few locals they knew, such as Mrs. Langston, the owner of the local mechanics, so Yang absolutely adored her.

The door opened with a chime as they entered. The post office was small but cosy, with a handler's desk at the front. Behind it could be seen rows upon rows of shelving, each filled with letters, parcels and anything else you could dream of posting. They were probably even be able to post your pet, though Alden didn't want to try.

"Ah, Hello you two! Thought you would turn up this evening." Mr. Harrison said from behind the desk. He was a short but happy man, content with the simple life of administering the different bits of paper shipping to and from the island. "Have how has your days been?"

"Not bad, just… anxious." Alden said as they approached the main desk, letting the door shut with a click behind them.

"Well," he said, pushing himself off the chair and turned to head into the back. "I believe you're in luck. These came in from the ferry around mid-day." Mr. Harrison dragged a ladder to one of the taller shelves and nimbly ascended to near the top where he procured two letters. Soon he had scaled down and had returned to the desk, checking the names on the letters and handed the corresponding letter to the two of them.

Alden gingerly took his and stared at it, in the corner was the twin-crossed axes, lined by a laurel: the symbol of the Vale government. Alden looked up from his letter to see Yang earing a similar expression. They looked at each other and came to a similar conclusion.

"I'm not waiting." Yang said as she flipped the letter to open it.

"I'm glad you said that." Alden replied as he followed suit.

Mr. Harrison watched on in interest as the two teenagers eagerly ripped into what could possibly be the most important documents of their lives.

Alden carefully unfolded the contents and his eyes began to track down the page:

_**Alden Pine Cirq**_

_**Forest Edge**_

_**Patch Island**_

_**Patch**_

_**Dear Mr. Cirq**_

_**It is with great interest that we have been watching you and many of your peer's progress as you have progressed through combat school, since you first entered you have trained and evolved to be not just a better warrior, but a better person. So, whatever the outcome of your studies, the skills you have learned will never be wasted and are actively sought after by nearly every industry. It is the goal of every student who attends a combat school to be accepted into one of the academies of the different kingdoms, and reach the final hurdle on your way to become a huntsman or a huntress, however the academies only have so much space, so it is important to read now before you see your results what you can do if you were not able to be accepted into an academy this year:**_

_**It is possible that you may get a referral and enter into an academy next year, so all is not lost! However if you feel like moving on to this level is not for you then don't threat, Students who have graduated from combat school are given a grant bonus by the Vale government to undertake further education in a different subject, as well as the skills you have already earned will prove useful and will demand the attention of whatever occupation you wish to move into.**_

_**Now that is over, we will move onto the subject of acceptance, at the bottom of this page you will see a dark grey sticker. Under that will reveal if you have been accepted into Beacon Academy or not. If you are not accepted, I wish you luck on whatever path you chose to take from here. But if you are accepted, it will be my pleasure to welcome you to my academy. I wish you all the best of luck and I hope to see you seen.**_

_**Kind regards**_

_**Professor Ozpin**_

_**Headmaster of Beacon Academy**_

_**Kingdom of Vale**_

Alden looked down; there it was. That small grey sticker was the source of all his doubts and anxieties over the last few weeks, he knew he had done well in the entrance exam, it was just the matter if he had done _well enough._

He locked eyes with Yang again, their hands resting on the lip of the sticker. They shared a nod and pulled… Alden didn't want to open his eyes, but he felt them peeling open anyway. Written at the bottom of the page:

_**We are delighted to inform you that you have been ACCEPTED into Beacon academy! You will receive a message to your scroll soon with further details.**_

Alden released the breath he felt like he had been holding for days and a uncontrollable grin spread on his face. He looked up; Yang was beaming to her violet eyes gleaming in the artificial light of the post office.

Suddenly they had wrapped each other in a hug of both congratulations and relief. The two friends had been through a lot together and didn't want to be separated on the final hurdle. Mr. Harrison and the rest of the staff present at the post office gave them a round of applause. It was well known that getting into a hunter academy was _the _single hardest career occupation to get into.

They pulled apart, still smiling as they looked down at their letters, just double checking to make sure their eyes hadn't deceived them.

"I don't believe it!" Alden said. He looked at Yang who was pinching her arm.

"Well I'm not waking up." She declared as they headed for the door, waving to Mr. Harrison as they left. Yang opened the saddlebag on Bumblebee and they carefully laid their letters in it, they didn't want them damaged on the journey back. They straddled the bike and it growled into life once more.

The ride back home was quiet, but not unhappy by any means.

Alden could have sworn that even though then sun had not ceased it's journey down the sky, everything seemed brighter, and the leaves a little greener. He even noticed the way the wind danced and played through his hair. Bumblebee skidded around a corner and he could see the roof of his house poking up above the hill. The drone of Bumblebee's engine slowly faded as they pulled up outside.

Alden swung his leg off and retrieved his letter from the saddlebag. He hugged Yang again in farewell.

"You still coming over tomorrow?" She asked as they pulled away.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" he replied turning and headed for the door.

"Oh! And bring Mary, Ruby said she wanted to try something with her." She added as Alden opened the door.

"I will, see you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" She gunned the engine and she disappeared in a trail of her own dust. Alden shut the door and headed into the house. He passed through the hallway and he pulled his shoes off and left them in the cupboard, he continued forward and suddenly all they eyes of his family were staring at him. Alden stopped in the doorway, pinned by their gazes.

"Umm…" he said.

"Well?" Ogora asked, crossing her arms over the back of the sofa and rested her chin on it, hope clearly evident in her eyes. Alden waved the piece of paper in his hands.

"I got in." He said. A cheer erupted through the room, and suddenly he was engulfed in a family wide group hug. And they all gave off a collective sigh of relief.

"Told you, you would get in." Mary said. Alden could only nod.

"I'm proud of you." Marcus said as they all pulled back. Ogora hadn't said anything, she was closely observing the scene with a beaming smile on her face. Alden opened his arms and hugged his mother directly, he could feel though his arm's she was humming with an unnatural energy, her semblance hard at work.

Marcus bent down and picked up the piece of paper Alden had dropped and opened the cupboard in the sitting room, he took a spare frame and slipped the certificate into it and hung it next to two other similar picture frames, their own admissions into Beacon when they were kids. His chest filled with pride, Alden had made it into Beacon. He suddenly felt very old, he remembered when he had received his entrance certificate, and now he was watching his own son go through it, he knew when he told his parents who were living a little ways down the road that they would tell him that they had felt the same thing, and he knew that one day Alden would do it to.

He looked back to his family, he always appreciated moments like this, when everyone was happier than just happy, there were laughs and everyone was positively beaming. Marcus would look back on this day fondly, of simpler times when everything was clear and safe. They all would. Before they arrived… Before it all went wrong…

Alden dodged to the left, spinning as Yang's gauntlet careered past him harmlessly before swinging down himself, grinning at the tell-tale flash of her Aura being grazed. She dodged backwards and flung her fists forward, the howling noise of fire dust projectiles in flight. Alden raced forwards and counted to three, when he was done, he jumped as high into the air as he could, summersaulting over the first and corkscrewing over the second. They exploded behind him harmlessly. He continued forwards and jumped again, the handles folding down on his gauntlets and he fired a pair of his own projectiles. Dirt was thrown into the air as Yang dodged them, she gritted her teeth and rushed him. One gauntlet reflected off his blade, the other he caught in his palm and winced as the shockwave went through his arm.

Yang tried to ram her knee up into his stomach, but Alden pushed he off balance and ran forward whilst still holding her arm, simultaneously dragging her off balance and disorientating her. As she fell Alden twisted, Tempest's blades retracted, and he delivered two swift punches to her lower her pack before jumping and delivering a twirling kick to her abdomen. Sadly, she didn't recoil, and just pushed back. Swinging a flurry of blows aimed for his chest. Alden dodged two, but at this close range it was impossible to keep up with it and he received a square blow, the gauntlets fired too, and Alden was flung back, crashing into the ground. He instinctively checked his scroll attached to his wrist, although he had only taken the one hit his Aura bar had dropped into the orange, dangerously low, he couldn't take another.

He stood up from the small trench in the dirt and Tempest redeployed, reflecting the light of the evening sun. Yang pointed her gauntlet s behind her and fired rocketing towards him. He stood there, seemingly accepting his fate. Just when she was mere feet away from him Alden jumped, tucking his legs in to pull his weight over back wards and flipped, the dust chambers spun, and a spray of small lightning bolts raced towards the ground. A few struck Yang causing her Aura to flash, but she ignored it and spun just as Alden landed and thrusted forward, Alden didn't see it coming and stopped deathly still as he stared down the barrels of Yang's weapon.

"I win." She said. Alden wasn't exactly in a position to disagree. He hated training fights where he wasn't allowed to use his semblance, but Yang was right, he was to reliant on it, he used it nearly as much as his weapons but with such a weak Aura it was kind of a necessity.

He and Mary had headed to the Xiao Long household after a hour or two of deciding about what to pack, but since Beacon was only an hours journey away, Alden decided to just take the basics, and anything more advance he would simply come back for it. He was hardly traveling to another kingdom.

That morning his scroll had been messaged like the letter said it would. Explaining that the new term would begin just the next Monday, just a week from today. Weirdly though, he couldn't wait. There used to be a time when everyone despised waiting for the holidays to finish and having to go back to school but now…

This was _Beacon_. Could anyone one really blame him?

Their weapons retracted they took a few minutes to stretch out and then headed back inside. Mary and Ruby were sprawled over the sofas eyes glued to the Holo-television, tapping vigorously on their scrolls, ironically playing a game about huntsman and huntresses, considering that's exactly what they were training to do. Alden opened up a cupboard in the kitchen and pulled out two glasses, filled them with water and offered one to Yang as he downed his own.

"You looking forward to Beacon Alden?" A voice said from behind them. He turned to see Taiyang coming through the door into the kitchen.

"Yeah, just don't like the waiting." He replied.

"It's the same for everyone at that point, first we're nervous about not getting in, then we're nervous about not being good enough _when _we're in." he laughed and shook his head. "I remember that feeling well."

"No! No! No! mmmghh! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Ruby's voice echoed in from the sitting room.

"I've got it! I've got it! I've got it!... _Yes!_" Mary cheered as she won the round.

"Oh, Yang would you mind checking the nets when you've got time? Tai said as he jogged out of the kitchen, "I've got a meeting in twenty minutes at signal."

"Yeah, that's fine. Have fun with your meeting." Yang replied and gave him a hug of farewell. "See you later dad."

"Bye dad!" Ruby called from the sitting room.

Yang waited to hear the door shut before her shoulders slumped.

"Ughh, I hate doing the nets." She said.

"There not _that _bad." Alden said as he headed for the back door. "Come on, I'll keep you company." She smiled in thanks and the pair headed off to the side a little ways where a small stream slowly meandered through the island.

They reached into the river and hauled out the nets, a meagre catch of only a few fish, but that was more than enough for a while. They dragged their catch to the shelter of a nearby tree. And they unsheathed small knives attached to their belts and began to gut and head them. The grass beneath them getting slightly slick. Once they were finished, they rinsed their hands in the river and carried the carcasses back to the house, placed them in pots and stored them in the cool cupboard to be cooked that evening.

"Thanks for the help, that was definitely easier." Yang said as they moved into the sitting room to watch Ruby and Mary go head to head in their game.

"no problem." He said his voice difficult to hear under Ruby's cheerful yell of victory.

Alden was once again crushed under the many limbed group hug of his family. When they pulled apart, he was met with tearful smiles all around.

"I'm gonna miss you." Mary said a they fist bumped.

"It's not like I'm leaving the Kingdom, I can come back at the weekends if need be, stop treating it like this is the last time we'll see each other, you're making me nervous." Alden said.

"Maybe we they're tears of joys and we're looking forward to never seeing you again." Marcus laughed as he patted Alden on the shoulder.

"Ouch."

Alden made a move towards the door.

"Oh, have you got your scroll?" Ogora asked.

"Yep" Alden said

"Wallet?"

"Yep"  
"Bag?"

"By the door."

"Whirlwind?" Alden lifted his arms up so the bracelets could be seen.

"And checked you've got everything in your bag?"

"Three times over, so I've forgotten about half of everything I need." Alden said grinning.

"Well you can always come back for it." Mary said.

"Precisely." Alden replied.

Alden quickly hugged the occupants of his house again, before reaching the door and slinging his backpack over his shoulder and tightening the straps to keep it secure. Opened the door and with one final wave of farewell began the walk along the dusty track towards the docks.

"Permission to come aboard skipper?" Alden jokingly asked as he hopped onto the deck of the _Sapphire wave._ Captain Tiller smiled at him from his position leaning over the railing.

"Big day ey' lad?"

"Very." Alden sighed as he stood beside him, looking out over the docks.

"Don't ye' fret. Anyone who can bullseye a crest viper at fifty feet is good enough for Beacon."

He looked down at his watch. "We're supposed to cast off about now." He sighed staring at the road.

The ferry captains of Patch ended up getting to know the various families of the island quite well. So, if they knew someone was intending to get passage on their ship, they would bend the rules and wait an extra few minutes in case someone was late.

Soon the purr of an engine could be heard over the cranes operating in the docks and soon the yellow streak and pulled up alongside the ship and had driven down the access ramp. Yang jumped off Bumblebee.

"Sorry about that Tiller, has to pack some extra rubbish." She said with an impish grin and nodded her head back to the bike where Ruby looked offended.

"Hey!"

Tiller laughed, and then called down the ship: "Cast off!" The mooring ropes were quickly retracted, and the engine room hummed to life as the ship left port.

"So, you here to Wave us off?" Alden asked Ruby.

"Nope." She said proudly, pulled out a piece of paper slip her pocket and handed it to him. Alden unfurled it and began to read:

**Ruby Scarlet Rose**

**Riverside**

**Patch Island**

**Patch**

**Dear Miss Rose**

**This letter serves as an admission slip to confirm you have been excepted into Beacon Academy under unusual circumstances, I would strongly suggest that you keep this letter on you at All times when you first arrive with the rest of the students as you will be able to use this in case a member of staff has not got the message and challenges your right to be on premises. I hope you enjoy your time with us.**

**Kind regards**

**Professor Ozpin**

**Headmaster of Beacon Academy **

**Kingdom of Vale**

"You got in!?" He said beaming down at his surrogate little sister.

She nodded happily and stuck out her tongue at him. "I did it two years earlier than you."

He smiled back, but inside he would admit he was jealous, what he wouldn't give to have his own sister join the fray…

He knew _why _Ruby was let in, she had explained in great detail what had happened during her dust shopping trip to the Cirq's when she had come over the next day, the day before Alden and Yang were set to depart. But Alden didn't expect that it would allow her into Beacon. Alden found it funny how fate seemed to twist and turn. Ruby had asked Mary if she needed any dust, and if she wanted to come with her, but she had to pass because she was dealing with a before term school project. Alden could only wonder what would have happened if she had gone along.

Ah well, it was never good to dwell on the past…

Yang had stored her bike in a nearby rental garage, next to the airfield, and they were standing amongst the throng of students waiting to board the airship, eagerly watching the large craft slowly descending from the sky.

The ramp slowly descended from the side of the airship and when it touched the ground a collective cheer went up from the students and eagerly ascended the ramp. They were up amongst the last of the students. The inside was very rand, with large metalwork arches spanning across the interior, with grand windows dotting the sides, giving a near unobstructed view of the world outside.

Alden nearly tripped on someone's foot and stumbles slightly. He turned to see someone apologising profusely to him.

"I'm so sorry!" He said, Alden quickly noticed the small pointy ears on the boy's head, amongst the mop of greyish black hair. The moment he saw Alden had seen the ears they immediately flattened across his head in embarrassment. Alden smiled.

"Don't worry about it, I tripped up on you, so really I should be saying sorry."

He smiled back and Alden looked to see Yang and Ruby staring out the window. He looked beside him again and smiled when he saw his ears slowly stick back up as he got comfortable. Alden had met several Faunus in his life before and always hated how they immediately got embarrassed and defensive about it. Even though Alden hadn't made a single move nor gesture to suggest he was a threat to them.

He wandered over to the window and looked over at the distance, he could make out Patch through the morning haze and the sole tower of signal academy peaking put over the top of the treeline. Spread out before him was the rest of the city, row upon row of red tiled roofs and larger commercial structures dotted about. He could even see the sever large towers of the arcade he and Mary were fond of.

He heard Yang say something about the "bees' knees" but her voice was easily drowned out beneath the noise of countless other excited students talking about where they were going.

"The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who has so far evaded authorities. If you know anything of his whereabouts, please contact the Vale police department. Back to you Lisa" The Holo screen to his left showed a picture of a man with orange hair with a sky smirk staring at the screen. It was talking about the shop robbery that Ruby interfered.

The view quickly changed to the news, which described how the Faunas civil rights movement had been interrupted by the white fang and turned violent. He hoped not many were hurt.

Suddenly the image was cut off and was replaced with a hologram of a person. She was tall and wore a white shurt with the staggered purple and black cloak.

Hello, and welcome to beacon." The figure said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an _incredible_ time of peace, and as future huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. Now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The Hologram flickered and vanished, leaving the interior of the ship in silence for a few seconds before conversation slowly started to pick up again.

"Hey Alden! Check this out!" He could hear Yang call from further down the ship. He walked over to them and found himself standing at the front, looking out the main viewing port. Beacon Academy dominated their view, it's imposing yet somehow friendly towers casting a long shadow over the cliff it was situated on. They could make out several large "pads" protruding form the edge of the cliff, serving as both landing pads for the many Bullheads ferrying people to and from the school as well as a landing jetty for the gigantic airships. A retching noise could be heard from behind them and they turned to see a blonde lad running the length of the ship holding his hand over his mouth. Alden guessed that maybe the air wasn't so cut out for everyone.

He heard several noises of disgust from beside him, Yang ad Ruby were obviously standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby cried

He cracked a smile, and looked down, Yang had a speck of dirt on her shoe, "Vomit boy" A Yang had dubbed him, had missed her shoe, but that didn't stop the girls from overreacting anyway.

The airship slowly listed as it banked to pull up alongside the jetty. And the door at the back of the ship folded down to allow the students to disembark. Considering they were at the front they had to wait a while before they could get to the ramp. As he reached the door Alden looked out. The ramp had extended to reach the jetty, so it was quite a long way, he looked to the side to see there were no handrails, and beneath them was a very, _very _long drop.

"So much for health and safety" he remarked as he continued onwards, feeling a little bit better when his feet reached solid ground. He reached the pad and continued down the path a little way before coming to a stop next to Yang and Ruby.

"Whoa." Ruby said, unusually stunned into near silence.

"The view from Vale has nothing on this." Yang said. She was right, the long straight pathway led into a large circular courtyard with marble arches and a huge fountain dominated the centre, the whole thing was surrounded by trees with scarlet leaves and that was before you even got to Beacon itself, its towers stretched so high into the sky that even from this distance you had to turn your head backwards to be able to see the top, mingling with the clouds above.

He looked to the left to see something small fall out of someone's bag. He jogged over to it and picked it up, it was a scroll, lucky he was the one who saw it. He jogged up to the person who had dropped it and tapped them on the shoulder.

"Hey, your bags undone, and this fell out." He said. They turned around and Alden recognised him as the wolf Faunus he tripped up on when he boarded the airship. His face lit up when he saw the scroll.

"wow, that would've been _really _bad if I lost this, my dad would've killed me." He said as he took it back with a smile and placed it back into his bag and re-zipped it up. "Thanks for that, you don't know how much you've helped me there."

"It was nothing," Alden replied, "Just keep an eye on you bag, it's bulging to the point of popping."

He laughed and their heads turned when they head a voice calling in their general direction.

"Hey Aegan! Come see this!"

The Faunus turned back to Alden.

"Thanks again, I'll see you around."

"See ya." Alden said and the Faunus walked off. He saw Yang walking towards the courtyard and jogged to catch up with her.

"Where's Ruby?" He asked.

"Oh, she wanted to have a quick look around, though knowing her she's probably staring inappropriately at people's weapons." Alden laughed at her joke and they followed the path around the fountain. It was now impossible to see the top of Beacon's main spire, but at its base a large set of doors had opened to allow the large stream of new arrivals into the academy and they could hear guides struggling to shepherd the new students in the right direction.

As they passed the fountain Alden was comforted by the trickling noise of running water, it reminded him of the rivers you would often hear from anywhere on Patch. Alden could see several people jumping up at one of the countless banners hanging from the lampposts to see if they were real or just a hologram.

"Enter through the main doors hear and then go through the first one on your right!" A voice called out over the crowd, trying to direct them. As they slowly marched forward within the throng of students they felt a wall of heat pass over them as they entered into the academy. They were in a large circular chamber with a large tree growing in the centre, casting strange shadows along the walls projected from several spotlights at its base.

Soon they were though the other doors and the hallway went dark with only a few wall mounted lights to guide them.

"Any idea what this is all for?" Yang asked, she was the only easily identifiable individual in the hall, her hair glowing slightly in the strange blue illumination.

"Nope, none. I hope though they won't be asking us to walk around in the dark for too long, it's only a matter of time before someone trips up."

There was a loud crashing noise from behind them "Ow!" someone called out as they faceplanted the floor.

"As I was saying." Alden finished smiling as he jinxed the poor soul behind him.

The hallway soon opened up into a huge amphitheatre, with a large stage at the other end of the hall. With a huge gathering place dominating the rest of the room. They could see the large groups of new students filling up the room and headed for a relatively empty space where they could have some breathing room.

He felt something knock against the back of his head, eh turned to see Liam, one of his other friends from Signal waving him over. He walked over to him as he saw Ruby enter the hall looking greatly confused and… slightly singed? Waving it off as Ruby had probably done something very Ruby… ish he assumed everything was fine and dropped into the conversation with some of his friends from signal and some new people that they had met before then. Within it was also that Wolf Faunus that Alden had tripped up on the Airship, they shared a friendly smile in greeting before being interrupted by two people entering onto the stage.

On of them Alden recognised as the Woman in the hologram as they were on the airship, Glynda Goodwitch she had introduced herself as. The other was a tall but thin man with crystal white hair and walking with a cane. He carried an air of both authority and respect. There was not a single person in the room who didn't know who he was. Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon academy and by extension one of the most well-known person on the entirety of remnant.

He cleared his throat into the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"I'll… keep this brief." He began whilst looking out over the assembled group of students. "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He left a brief paused as he looked over everyone in the amphitheatre again. "But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you from this. But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step."

He cast his gaze over the students one more time before marching off without another word. Professor Goodwitch stood up to the microphone and briefly addressed everyone:

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"Well that was… stern." Alden remarked.

The students started to file out of the amphitheatre, once again being herded by several older students. As they made their way through the maze of corridors, they came upon a large locker room. One of the guides jumped over the bench and shouted to be heard.

"Right everyone! These lockers will serve as your storeroom temporarily until you can be assigned your own permanent one! Just pick one that isn't taken and punch in the code you want it to be! Make sure you _store your weapons!_ They're not allowed in the ballroom, we learned that from experience!"

Alden walked a little way up to avoid the mass of students trying to get to the ones closer to the door. The lockers were all the same, so he picked one in the corner of the third block. He typed in an easy code to remember and unlocked the door. Inside there was plenty of room for his bag and even adjustable slots to hold different kinds of weapon. At the bottom the academy had even provided sleeping bags for them to use.

Alden slung his bag off his shoulder and stuffed into the bottom shelf.

"Hey, is this one taken?" Someone asked from his left he looked up to see the Faunus pointing at the locker next to his.

"No, it's free." Alden said. The Faunus smiled and began to type his code in.

"Hey it's Aegan right?" Alden asked, seeing if he was friendly or not. He turned as smiled at him.

"Yep, Aegan Losaw." He said and held his hand out, Alden shook it.

"Alden Cirq."

"Nice to meet you Alden."

"So, where you from Aegan?"

"I live on the outskirts of the city, you?"

"I live on patch."

"You're from Patch?" Alden nodded. "That's rare, Patch's population is really small isn't it?"

"Yeah, compared to the city, it's miniscule."

"Then how does it have its own combat school? I've always wondered that."

"Because nearly everyone living on it is a huntsman or huntress."

"Really?"

"Well why do you think it hasn't been overrun by Grimm by now, it doesn't have the defences of the city, so the people defend it."

"That actually… makes a lot of sense."

Alden laughed, "Don't worry, most people don't really think about it, we're just an island off the coast, and we're happy to stay that way."

Tempest whirled around and hissed open as Alden pulled them off. He looked up t see Alden looking at them.

"Would you mind if I have a look?" He asked.

"Sure." Alden said and held one up for him.

Aegan took the Bracelet and twisted it under the light to get a better look at it.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's a sword-gauntlet hybrid." Alden explained as he put the rest of his stuff in the locker. He looked up see Aegan accidently flick the override switch on the inside, his hand shot up and pulled Aegan's arm away from his face as the gauntlet deployed and the blade sprang out, if it was where it originally was it would have taken his head off.

"Careful." He said and took his weapon back, refolded it and locked it away in his locker.

"As much as that would have hurt, your weapons are awesome!" He said grinning.

"I'm glad you like them; I think my teacher said I spent three times longer than average to design and build those."

"I'm not surprised." Aegan said as he shut his own locker and they headed onwards into the large expanse of the Ball room. It was an incredibly grand room with large stone pillars holding up an Alcove that ran around most of the room, with stairs leading up to it from both sides. They quickly headed for them and made their way onto the upper floor.

The rest of the day passed like a blur, everyone started to get acquainted with each other, some meeting old friends again, others making new ones. Already groups were forming, and large centres of conversation were dotted around the room. It wasn't long before they were instructed to settle down for the night. Everyone retrieved their sleeping bags from their lockers and rolled them out in any free space on the floor they could find.

Alden found himself next to Aegan and rolled his sleeping bag out onto the floor. He sat cross legged on it and wrapped his jumper around him, the stone pillars and large steel windows made him feel cold, not surprising considering he was usually surrounded by forests and beaches. Though when he looked over to Yang and Ruby, he noticed they were having no such trouble, but Ruby was hyperactive and Yang was a biological heater, so anyone sleeping near her would definitely be warmer.

"So" Aegan said "We're really here."

"Yep," Alden said, "Though don't remind me to much, I'm sacred I'm gonna wake up and realise I'm just dreaming."

Aegan laughed, "yeah, I know what you mean, it's hard to believe it."

A group of boys passed them, trying to put in each other in headlocks, he noticed Yang gave them an approving look and laughed internally.

"How are they not cold!?" Alden whined, shivering. He for one would freeze to death if he took his jumper off, let alone his shirt.

"They live in the city…" Aegan deadpanned.

"Stop talking sense." Alden huffed, and stuffed himself inside his sleeping bag to try and warm up more. He looked around and noticed that apart from Yang and Ruby every person he recognised from Signal Were all bundled up in jumpers, not used to not having the evening sun warm up their rooms.

Several lights flickered off around the room, leaving only a few areas Illuminated. Alden could see Yang and Ruby talking to two other girls, though he wasn't sure if it was "talking" or "arguing"

Shaking his head, he hunkered down into his sleeping bag and took one more look around the room, he was here… he was actually at Beacon! He smiled and huddled further into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Dreaming of what was to come.

**Hello again everyone, for those who are returning, welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the upgrade, and for those who are new welcome! Just be warned, that the next few chapters will be much choppier than this, but they will improve as they go on, and will be improved themselves, so sit tight. I would really appreciate any feedback you're willing to give me, weather you like it or not, if your new or more experienced in MANA's adventures. I tried really hard to make this the pinnacle of my writing ability so far but there will be mistakes in there, but I hope you agree that this has come a long way since it started last April. , so we're coming up on its Year anniversary!**

**So Yeah, please Drop me a PM or leave a review, I would love to hear from you!**

**Until Then!**

**Etherway**


	2. Chapter 2: The First Step- Part 1

Chapter 2: The First Step- Part 1

Alden woke amongst a mass of groggy teenagers who looked like they had woken up way too early. He rubbed some sleep from the edge of his eyes as the events of the previous evening came back to him. He was here- he _actually_ made it to Beacon.

The ballroom steadily got louder as more and more conversations started up. Alden slipped out of his sleeping bag, rolled it up and fixed it with a tie before stuffing it back in his rucksack. He made a quick sweep of his floor space to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Alden stood up and shouldered his backpack, he headed for the Locker room. As he walked down the large chamber he noticed that many of the faces had become familiar, he recognised nearly everyone from the day before. Although he didn't know many names there was a budding sense of companionship in the room as everyone started to intermingle and make friends.

He saw Yang and Ruby talking off to the side and he waved to them as he made his way to his locker. Alden entered the code and stored his rucksack away, he opened a side pocket and pulled out some washing supplies before closing the locker and headed for a communal bathroom. As he walked back down the locker room he crossed paths with Aegan, they nodded in greeting before heading their separate ways.

In the bathroom, there were several students washing and preparing for the day ahead. He made his way to one of the free stalls and began to brush his teeth. As he was doing so he looked at the various inhabitants of the room, there were several characterful… characters dotted around, for example, there was a boy dressed in green with a streak of pink in his hair, who was talking to an overactive redheaded girl, with a similar awkwardness that bared a striking resemblance to Ruby. There was a guy that had literally walked into the bathroom in full plated armour and did that girl have a fox tail?

He turned and spat out the contents of his mouth into the sink, and then cupped his hand underneath the tap and slurped some water into his mouth, swished it around and spat it out. He grabbed his stuff and headed back into the locker room.

Once he made it to his locker Aegan was there packing some of his things away in his respective locker. As he approached Alden noticed that Aegan's ear swivelled in his direction.

"Hi Alden." He said without even looking.

"How did you know it was me?" Alden asked as he opened his locker and put his stuff away in his bag.

"Everyone has their own signature walking pattern, I tend to learn the patterns of those I spend time with, the whole wolf Faunus thing makes hearing easier for me than most," Aegan explained as he closed his locker. He gestured to the door "Breakfast?"

Alden nodded, "let's go." He said and they walked out the locker room, through the ballroom and followed some other new students being guided to the cafeteria.

"So," Aegan began "I heard some other people talking about teams this morning. About how and when they'll be assigned."

"That's a good point, how does all of that work?" Alden asked.

"Well, it's all just rumour, no one's told anyone _anything_, and even the older students are keeping their mouths shut. One theory is that it's all just random, another is that they are monitoring our conversations and putting us with people they think we will get along with the best."

"That isn't a bad idea, to be honest," Alden remarked as they entered the cafeteria. This room was absolutely _packed_. There wasn't a single table completely free all were mostly filled up with students from all years. They walked to the far end of the cafeteria where the food was being served. They both picked up plates and packed them with pancakes and then drowned them in syrup.

"Which table do you fancy?" Aegan asked looking out over the sea of students.

Alden spotted Yang and Ruby at a nearby table- talking to some of their friends from Patch. He nudged Aegan with his elbow. "This way." He led him down to the table and sat down before scooting over to allow room for Aegan who sat down beside.

"Ladies, this is Aegan. Aegan this Is Yang and Ruby, their friends from back home." He said as he pointed who was who. Aegan smiled and nodded in greeting.

"Nice to meet you." He told them

"Likewise," Ruby replied smiling at him.

They chattered for a minute as Yang and Ruby got to know Aegan before the conversation moved on to their upcoming initiation.

"It's gonna be some kind of test." Alden theorised, Yang just rolled her eyes.

"No shit Sherlock"

Alden went back over his sentence, "What?" before realising the obviousness of his statement, "No, not like that, I mean is it academic based, combat based, both?"

Aegan snorted in amusement.

"Yeah, start at point A, fight through Grimm to point B, complete maths test in one hour, and then fight your way back to point A"

Alden huffed and facepalmed. "I hate you guys." The occupants at the table laughed.

They finished the rest of their breakfast while theorising about the initiation, teams, why professor Ozpin seemed so strange.

"He was so weird!" Ruby said, "I met him before we came to Beacon, and he just seems to look into your soul. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew every single thing about us."

"It was very peculiar," Aegan agreed "During the speech he seemed like he was there and at the same time, wasn't."

"Meh," Alden said "Teach teenagers for that length of time and you have probably seen everything. I mean take Yang for example."

"Hey!"

Alden ducked under a flying grape.

Aegan and Ruby chuckled.

The crackling noise of a microphone turning on buzzed throughout the cafeteria.

"All first-year students: you have five minutes to finish your food and report to the locker rooms to get prepped for initiation."

They wolfed down the rest of their breakfasts (quite literally in Aegan's case.) When they finished they picked up their plates and left them by the counter.

"Right," Alden said "Initiation time."

"Let's go!" Ruby said as she ran ahead.

They walked through the corridors of the lower floors of Beacon. They passed through the ballroom which also seemed to act as a social space, with students from all years milling around and chatting. A few of them shouted words of encouragement to them.

The atmosphere in the Locker room was tense, the stress was starting to get to everyone, they were stumbling in the dark about what was coming up. Alden and Aegan parted ways with Yang and Ruby and headed for their lockers. Alden opened his locker and pulled out his rucksack. Dotted around the locker room were several doors leading off to various changing rooms.

Alden found one with no one in it and set his bag on the floor. He opened the front pocket and pulled out a set of clothing. Alden quickly got changed, he stood up and looked in the mirror. His clothes very much resembled their wearer- simple but with plenty of tricks up their sleeves. He was wearing a blue shirt, with his personalised emblem of a dark purple spinning vortex on the left side of his chest as well as a bigger version on the back. From these two dark purple lines ran up to his shoulders and down his arms. He had black trousers that had similar purple lines running down the sided which ended in simple combat boots. He also had a small pouch by the bottom of his back which contained spare dust magazines. The only thing unusual about the whole thing were four relatively small metal plates on either shoulder as well as both sides of his waist.

Alden resounded his backpack and walked back to his locker, Aegan was already there strapping what looked like two small scythes to his waist. Apart from that literally nothing had changed from his appearance- a simple black shirt with an emblem of Remnant's moon on his shoulder and a pair of jeans.

Alden opened his locker and pushed his rucksack back inside. He then grabbed his gauntlets- _impetus tempestatis_ (Whirlwind) or Tempest for short. He thumbed a button and the chambers hissed open. He slid his wrists in and the chambers clicked shut, securing them onto his arm. The gauntlets folded out, covering his forearm to act as a guard and the dust chamber spun round in a full Cycle to makes sure everything was working properly before folding back into their bracelet form, the main structure folded in to the side of the dust chamber giving it a much sleeker look than when it was deployed.

"Can all first-year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon cliff immediately."

Alden looked up when he heard a yelp and a thud. He watched as a crimson-headed girl pull a spear out a boy's hood who was slumped against the wall. When she walked off he saw Yang and Ruby approach him. Alden couldn't make out their conversation form this distance but he saw Ruby pick him up and lead him towards the exit.

"Well then…" Alden remarked

"Showtime," Aegan said, and they followed the last students out the exit.

It wasn't far to Beacon cliffs, it was just at the back of the academy. All the Students walked in silence, their thoughts weighing heavily on their minds.

The students gathered in several small groups standing near the edge of the cliff, waiting for instruction. They were all looking out to the forest beyond, wondering what was to come. Soon they saw Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch approaching and they all said their final woods to each other.

"You two keep each other safe out there OK?" Alden told Yang and Ruby.

"Don't worry about us," Yang told him.

"See you guys out there." Aegan said as they all spread out to stand on the selection of metal plates laid out against the edge of the cliff."

Ozpin stood in front of them and off to the side, and like the day before he seemed to _observe_ everyone, just till it began to feel uncomfortable before speaking:

"For years, you have trained to become warriors and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the emerald forest."

Glynda stepped forward "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams." She said as she held her scroll. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… _today._"

"These Teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin said, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Alden could hear a large selection of mixed reactions to this statement coming from the assembled gathering of students.

"After you have partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you _will_ die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Alden heard someone say something from the other end of the line but couldn't make it out if it was a question or not.

"Good! Now, take your positions"

Before Alden could do anything he realised he was at the farthest platform and was catapulted into the air immediately. Although it didn't faze him too much, it did mean he wasn't able to streamline himself very quickly, which meant he would be landing earlier than he intended. Within a few seconds, he felt gravity start to take hold and he started to plummet towards the ground. As he broke through the tree cover he reached out and grabbed a branch and swung forwards. In mid-air, the purple stripes along his clothing as well as the emblems lit up in a brilliant purple as the dust activated and he felt himself drift slightly before he activated his semblance.

Alden flashed a bright purple colour before vanishing. A second later he materialised standing on the floor.

Alden slowly turned in a circle, listening if anything was nearby. However, his foot landed on a stick and it snapped. Alden flinched as he heard several grunts of surprise as well as sniffing. His initial split-second panic probably didn't do him any favours as suddenly he heard movement all around him. One red pair of eyes stared at him, peeking over the top of the bush, and then another, and another, and another, and _another. _Soon he was completely surrounded by glowing eyes and growls. The Grimm closed in, just over half a dozen of them. One of the Grimm roared at him and scuffed its feet- ready to charge.

Alden flicked his wrists and his gauntlets folded out in a series of clunks. The dust chamber span round until the red slot locked in. Tempest's blades sprung out- coated in fire. His leg tensed behind him, ready to leap at the closets Beowolf. Alden heard a wind rushing noise from above him. He looked up to see a speck getting bigger and bigger. The speck became a humanoid shape. It passed behind him and slammed into the Beowolf behind him. The person punctured right through it with a wet "splat". The person stood and faced him. All he could see was blue eyes and brownish-ginger hair before the rest of the Beowolves charged.

The girl smiled at him before turning to face the Beowolves behind her, Alden looked at the Grimm in front. With a small click a pair small barrels stuck out of the front of Alden's gauntlets, a handgrip slotted out and own into Alden's palm with triggers built in. He pointed them behind him and fired. The recoil forced him forward and he spun in mid-air- the blades becoming an arc of death, his initial attack cleaved two Beowolves in half. The one to his left swung its claws and Alden blocked it with the forearm guard of his left gauntlet, he shoved the right blade into the roof of its mouth. The Beowolf screeched in pain before Alden pulled the trigger – the fire dust projectile detonating in its mouth causing it to explode.

The last Beowolf charged, Alden fired his grapple which wrapped around its leg. He pulled the Beowolf off balance. The gravity dust in his clothing flared again before Cyton blinked out- reappearing above its head, the dust deactivated and Alden fell down and slashed, decapitating it in one swing. As the Beowolf collapsed behind him he turned round to see if his newfound ally needed any help.

She had stabbed her polearm into the ground and was resting on its handle- she had finished off her Grimm already and was watching Alden mop up his share. They made eye contact as she landed so according to Ozpin's rules, they were partners. She had long brownish-ginger hair and blue eyes, slightly shorter than Alden but not by much. She was wearing a light brown leather jacket and simple leggings. Her weapon handle was a long metal pole, the bottom of the handle ended in a spearhead. At the top was a circular guard and resting on top of that was an ornate dragon's head, coming out of its mouth was a wide curved blade. Alden defiantly did not want to get hit by the thing.

She gave him a warm smile, before picking up her weapon and approached him. "Well," she said, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Maya"

"Alden" he replied, "You finished them off quickly." He complimented

"Meh, I had one less than you, you're not so bad yourself," Maya said.

"Our first pair has formed," Glynda told Ozpin as she was looking at her scroll, "That was fast."

"Hmm." He replied looking at the interaction between the two but said nothing more.

"The sun rises in the East, its morning, so North is… This way." Alden pointed and began to walk.

"Hang on, wait," Maya said, Alden turned and looked back at her. Maya seemed… anxious?

"What's wrong?" Alden asked.

"Well, we're together for four years, so we might as well get this over with…" Maya seemed like she was talking to herself. Suddenly a bushy red tail with a white tip appeared from her lower back- a fox tail. _No wonder why she seemed familiar._ Alden thought.

Faunas were nearly always nervous when revealing their "animal parts" a lot of humans weren't the most… _accommodating _when it came to Faunus. Maya never could hide her identity so she learned to live with it. Normally it didn't bother her, she walked the halls of Beacon without trying to hide it the day before, but she was now partnered with this person for the next four years- it would be incredibly awkward and irritating if he didn't tolerate her nature.

"And?" He asked.

"Oh thank the gods…" she whispered out at the lack of horrible comments that possibly could have come out of his mouth. Alden took a closer look at her clothes- by her shoulder was an emblem a fox, looking over its back with its tail raised. _Well… It makes sense._ Alden thought.

"I was praying you weren't going to turn out like those arseholes earlier," Maya said.

"Um. I wasn't with you earlier, I don't know who you mean." Alden replied.

"Remember a guy in plate armour?" Alden nodded "He and his friends have already noticed the tail, I know they're going to try and do something soon, people who have that glint in their eyes always do."

She began to walk north, beckoning Alden to follow her. The tree cover was thick so it was fairly dark in this part of the forest, so both of them were constantly on the lookout for any new threats. Alden had retracted his blades, but the Gauntlets remained activated- just in case.

Alden looked at Maya "Did you muck up your landing too? We're pretty close to the cliff."

Maya gave out a small laugh "No, I landed here deliberately. I saw you get launched before you could get ready, and when I heard the roars, I thought you could use the help… And… I saw you talking to that wolf Faunus yesterday, which made you the highest probability of not being a jerk."

Alden smiled at her comment, "Fair enough."

A gunshot rang out through the forest, Alden's blades immediately sprang out and Maya's Glaive's handle shortened and the spearhead slotted into the handle, the blade got narrower and became more traditional sword like in shape. They looked around and saw noting nearby.

"The shot wasn't near us, it seems others have run into Grimm of their own," Maya said.

"Let's hope we don't get anymore ourselves," Alden replied.

"Amen to that, but the initiation is obviously going to throw more at us than a small pack of Beowolves."

"Sadly"

They advance onwards until they reached a small hill, they climbed to the peak to get a better look at their surroundings.

"The temple is that way." Alden pointed. He began to walk forwards but Maya grabbed his arm. Alden turned to look at her: she sniffed twice and Alden could have sworn he saw her hair twitch by the side of her head, as one of her ears perked up.

"_Down!_" She hissed as she dragged him to the ground. "_And Think happy thoughts!_"

"What is it?" Alden asked, but he followed her instructions and cast his mind back to the last few days of training with his sister, he felt his muscles relax. He looked over the crest of the hill and saw an Ursa stroll into the clearing in front of them.

He heard a series of clunks to his left, he looked to see Maya's sword transforming, the blade retracted back into the dragon's head which then extended forward on the end of a barrel, the hilt reformed itself into a handle and stock and a scope popped out the top resulting in a dragon-headed rifle.

Alden let out a low pitched whistle, "That's cool." He said staring in awe at Maya's weapon. She smiled at him.

"Thank you." Was all she said before taking aim. Alden could see her tracking the Ursa as it moved through the clearing. He heard her hold her breath for a split second before she pulled the trigger. The rifle fired an extremely high-velocity fire dust projectile, which looked like the dragon head breathed a fireball. The projectile covered the clearing in less than half a second before puncturing straight through the Ursa's head. It didn't even shriek out before collapsing to the floor and vanishing. However, the sound of it crumpling to the floor caused a series of surprised grunts to ring out through the clearing. Two more Ursai emerged from the woodland.

Alden heard Maya's weapon transform again. "Stay here," she told him "I've got these two. Come in if any more show up."

"Ok." Alden agreed and looked to his left to see that… she wasn't there. He looked around but there was no sign of her anywhere. "What?"

He then felt someone flick his forehead, Alden winced. He could hear Maya give out a small snort of nearly silent laughter right in front of him. "My semblance is pretty cool too don't you think?" she asked but Alden could not see her- she was invisible.

"Oh, you are going to be _insufferable _with that." Alden groaned, he heard Maya laugh.

"Yep."


	3. Chapter 2: The First Step- Part 2

Chapter 2: The First Step- Part 2

Alden heard her footsteps slowly move away from his position. It wasn't long before Maya was completely out of earshot. He waited a few seconds… and a few more… Just when he thought something might have happened and got ready to follow after her, he heard a small shriek. His eyes snapped up as one of the Ursa disintegrated. The other one whirled around, looking for the source if the attack.

Alden could almost see Maya's blade cutting through the air as it carved one of the arms off the remaining Ursa. It looked down, stunned. Another puncture wound appeared in its neck, the Ursa's breath staggered before it too disintegrated. Maya reappeared amongst the scattering dust, she shoved her glaive into the ground and extended her other arm out and took a very elaborate bow in Alden's direction.

Alden stood and began his descent of the hill. "Show-off," he told her.

Maya grinned and began to walk off, "Come on, we're behind everyone else, we need to catch up."

They continued their trek through the woods, as they traveled further they began to see various signs of other students landing sites: one tree had two parallel carve marks which spiraled down its trunk like a helter-skelter. Another had its top branches smashed as someone probably tumbled right through them.

As they were walking Maya's head shot up.

"What's wrong?" Alden asked.

"Nothing," She replied "I just remembered something," Maya brought her wrist up which had her scroll attached to it she collapsed her glaive and sheathed it on her waist to free up her hand before tapping on her scroll a few times, "Where is it?" She mumbled to herself, "Functions… Team functions… Requests… ah ha!" she tapped once more and a beep sounded from Alden's wrist. He lifted his own scroll up to see its flashing screen:

_Maya Aletha has sent you a team request._

_Do you wish to accept?_

_YES NO_

Alden tapped "yes." Suddenly a small picture of Maya's face appeared below his own and a green bar stretched across the screen.

"Is this showing me your aura levels too?" Alden asked. Maya nodded.

"It's a trick my brothers showed me a while back, means you can keep an eye on your friends aura levels without having to constantly keep shouting about it during a fight, should come in handy."

"I bet it will," Alde replied. They both stopped when they heard faint shouting in the distance.

"We're getting close," Maya remarked and continued forward.

They walked for quite a while without being interrupted, the only sign of any Grimm was the wrecked landscape of recent student's encounters, most of them seemingly when they landed, much Like Alden and Maya.

They entered another clearing, off to their side several trees had been knocked over. Something big had smashed through them. Alden walked up to the splintered stump of the first tree- it was still bleeding sap.

"Whatever happened, it happened recently." He told Maya who had walked to the centre of the clearing. She bent over and picked up something, but Alden couldn't quite make out what it was from this distance.

"Someone was definitely here." She said and walked over to him. She held her hand out and Alden took the object she was holding. It was a lock of hair, a brilliant blonde colour.

"Hmm…" Alden said, "The only person who has this colour hair is…" His eyes traveled from the hair in his palm to the row of smashed trees. "Yep, it's fine. No one was hurt." He told Maya.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked.

"This hair," Alden said as he cast the lock to the wind, "belongs to a friend of mine, from Patch. She can be… _defensive_ when it comes to her hair. Let's just say you wouldn't want to be her hairdresser. If a Grimm cut it, then it wouldn't be a Grimm for very long afterwards."

"OK," Maya said a bit hesitantly, "if you're sure."

A high pitched scream pierced through the forest.

"Someone's in trouble," Alden said. Maya's ears twitched.

"She's not far. Come on!" Maya took off into a sprint, Alden hot at her heels. They jumped over a few more splintered trees and various other obstacles from other student's fights with Grimm. They burst out the forest and was looking at the wall of a cliff. Not far from them the rock had been smashed open, and the rocks scattered around the outside suggested that something big had broken out, rather than in.

Maya pointed to their right. "Whatever it was, it went that way." She had pointed to a part of the forest where the trees had been completely flattened, it also left a trail but in a straight line.

"That scream only happened about two minutes ago, if we can't see anything it means it's likely a Grimm and it's following someone," Maya concluded. "We need to catch up." She ran in the direction of the destroyed forest and Alden followed. They ran, and ran, and ran. But they didn't catch sight of what caused all this devastation.

The path through the forest didn't change and it went on for a _long_ way. They started to lose focus due to the fact nothing looked new. Luckily for them, Alden looked over his shoulder for a second and nearly had a heart attack. Swooping low over the canopy was a Nevermore, and it was coming straight at them. It screeched and it spread its wings wide, firing off its feather projectiles at them. The screech caused Maya to look behind them too. But she tripped on a branch sticking out the ground.

As Alden was only slightly behind her, he kept sprinting. His hand reached out and locked onto her jacket. They both flashed purple before vanishing- the feather stabbing at the ground where they just were. They both reappeared off to the side of the path, covered by the canopy of the trees.

Alden looked up to see the nevermore pass over them, just above the trees. But thankfully it carried on. However, it too seemed to be following the path. Maya looked slightly dizzy, she shook her head to clear it.

"That was pulling it a bit tight." She said whilst staring at the Nevermore in the distance before casting her gaze back to Alden "Thanks."

"Don't sweat it." He told her before reaching a hand down to help pull her up. She accepted and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"We can't be far now," Maya said as they walked back onto the destroyed path.

"I don't know," Alden said, "This trail looks like it goes on forever."

Maya quickly looked around before heading for the tallest tree she could find. She leaped at its lower branches, and slowly clambered her way up, with her tail extended out behind her to help keep her balance. When Maya reached the top, she clung to the trunk- her hair flaring out behind her as her head spun to see if she could spot their destination.

"Yep! Over there!" she called down, pointing in the direction they were going, "There's something big moving down there, and the Nevermore is circling. There's probably some of the others, I can hear gunfire." Maya then jumped off the tree, rolling as she hit the ground before springing back to her feet. They took off in a jog towards the general sounds of chaos beyond.

When they broke through the forest it looked like a warzone, there was a shattered stone building directly ahead of them, to their right there were several Nevermore feathers impaled in the ground mixed with a scattered collection of shattered ice crystals. Whoever was here they were gone now.

"Look," Maya said pointing in the distance, they could see the Nevermore flying perpendicular to their left. Several quiet bangs could be heard and several pink explosions detonated in mid-air around the Grimm. There definitely were other students nearby.

"Is that the temple?" Alden asked looking at the ruined stone building.

"Could be, let's have a look," Maya replied. They approached the circular building. Inside there were several pedestals a couple were holding a single chess piece, the rest were empty. There were only two remaining pieces- two white bishops. They heard a loud rustling in the forest nearby. Alden grabbed one of the pieces and pocketed it one of the spare pockets in the small bag by his waist. They left the temple and cautiously approached the forest, where they heard the rustling.

A body flew out of the shrubbery and slammed into the ground nearby- their Aura shimmering, a Boarbatusk following after them.

"Aegan!" a voice called out from the forest and several roars as well as slashes from a weapon. Aegan groaned and rolled over, trying to get to his feet. The Boarbatusk scuffed its feet on the grass, ready to charge. Alden's triggers folded down and the chamber span round and a light blue magazine locked in. Alden extended his arm, took aim and fired- a long ice spike raced out the barrel and impaled in the Grimm's thigh, stopping it from charging. A bang rang out next to him and the Grimm evaporated. He looked to his right to see the smoking barrel of Maya's rifle.

Someone else rolled out of the forest, dodging out of the way of three more Boarbatusks, they swung their sword but it looked like they were just attacking the air. However the sword seemed to split into segments and extend- it wrapped around one of the Boarbatusks which ran past her and the segments bit into its flesh, shredding its skin in several places before it collapsed and disintegrated.

The other two sped past the newcomer and barrelled straight towards Alden and Maya. They waited as the Grimm got closer, Maya's rifle switched back into its glaive form. They waited until the Grimm were virtually on top of them before springing into action, making sure they couldn't dodge.

Maya rolled off to the side, winging her Glaive in a wide arc- slamming into its legs and tripping it up. The Boarbatusk rolled for a few feet but landed with its belly exposed. Maya sprinted and jumped before driving her blade deep into the flesh of the Grimm.

Alden flashed out and appeared behind his Boarbatusk, his grapple whipped out and tangled in its leg. He pulled and the Grimm jerked back towards him, his gauntlets witched back to the red magazine and he punched the Grimm in its underside, he pulled the trigger and the Boarbatusk flew up in the air. Alden fired his grapple again, wrapping around its midsection. He pulled it towards him and jumped meeting it in mid-air. The blade on his right gauntlet extended and he stabbed the Grimm in its belly. He then turned them in mid-air so the Grimm was below him before firing again. The force blew the Grimm in two. Alden flipped backwards before landing on his feet- the two halves of the Grimm landing with wet "splats" either side of him.

Aegan slowly got to his feet, "Nite, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live." The girl replied. She had remained on her knees after she saw the Grimm weren't after her to get some rest. She then tried to stand but crumpled back to the floor.

"Hey, get some rest. You aren't going anywhere in your current state." Maya told her before turning to Alden, "Can you get the relic for them, we can move as soon as their ready to go." Alden nodded and jogged into the temple. He grabbed the final piece and turned to go back to the group when his scroll beeped. He lifted his wrist up to see two new faces and names below his and Maya's: Aegan Losaw, and Nite Lakeire. Their Aura bars, however, did not stretch to the end of the screen like His and Maya's. Nite's only stretched halfway and was an orange colour, Aegan's only covered a quarter of the bar and was beginning to turn red.

He returned to the others and handed the last bishop piece to Nite, she smiled and took it off him and pocketed in her jacket pocket. Nite was a human, like Alden. She had dirty blonde hair and wore a jumper and jeans with a few Cyan strips in her clothing in a similar style to Alden's, he wondered if she used dust in her clothing too.

They got to their feet. "Right," Alden said, "We've got the relics, and all we have to do now is get back to the cliff."

"If we meet as many Grimm getting out as we did getting in, I doubt we'll get out of this alive." Nite said looking at her Aura levels.

"We'll be fine," Alden replied "Our group's doubled in size. Maya and I can take the hits."

They began the journey back towards the cliff, through the nevermore feathers and the ice shards. Alden crouched down next to a path of wet mud.

"There are several sets of footprints here, they were running that way," he said pointing in the direction they were going, "also judging by this hole, I think they're being followed by a death stalker."

"It would explain the big thing I saw earlier," Maya said. They continued onwards. It wasn't long before they came across more stone structures. Several pillars sticking out the ground led the way to a massive canyon. They lined up against its edge looking out beyond There was a stone structure leading out over the gap, however, there was a problem…

"How do we get over there?" Nite asked. The bridge onto the structure had been knocked out.

"It would take hours to go around and we can't go across. We either don't get back in time or we don't get back at all…" Aegan said looking hopelessly at the other side of the canyon.

"Not necessarily…" Alden said, he grabbed onto Maya's and Aegan's arms, "hold on Nite." He said. Nite grabbed onto Aegan's arm. They all flashed purple and vanished before reappearing on the structure in the middle of the canyon.

"Wow," Aegan said, "that's probably the most useful semblance I've ever seen."

"It's not bad is it?" Alden said. He looked down at his scroll. "However, I can't move all of us many more times."

They all navigated the shattered structure to the other side. There was rubble everywhere from what looked like a recent fight. Now that he thought about it the Nevermore wasn't around anymore.

However, that fight seemed to have weakened the structure and the whole thing began to collapse simultaneously. The four of them suddenly found themselves in freefall plummeting towards the ground. As they were falling Alden grabbed onto Maya and together they drifted down towards the tumbling form of Nite. Maya grabbed hold of her and Alden fired his grapple at Aegan and reeled him in. They were getting very close to the ground now and Alden had to guess how high the cliff edge was above them- it was very possible that they could end up materialising _inside _the cliff.

They flashed purple and vanished, only a few feet off the ground. Sadly they also appeared a few feet above the edge of the cliff and could not break their fall. They all slammed into the ground. All their Auras shimmered from the impact. Aegan's shattered. They all groaned from the force of the impact. Alden shakily got to his feet and looked behind him, he honestly hoped they were the last ones because there was no way anyone was getting across the canyon now, unless they could fly. He turned back to the forest and came face to face with a Beowolf.

It took a swing at him but Alden blinked out the way. He reappeared off to the side and activated the barrels of his gauntlets. The red magazines locked in and he fired several fireballs at the Beowolf. It collapsed and evaporated but behind it were several more. Alden took aim and pulled the triggers again, his left one fired once before clicking, the right one didn't fire at all. The dust chambers span so the red magazines were at the bottom and they sprung out, Alden removed them and put them in his bag. The rest of the pack charged. He didn't have time to recharge his fire dust, and with two people with half aura, one with critical levels and one with no aura… they were in a pretty dicey situation.

Luckily Maya had recovered, she ran up to his side, her weapon was in its sword mode and the blade was on fire originating from the dragon head. She ducked under the swing of the first Beowolf and beheaded it, she then twirled around the attack of the second one before jumping on its head and stabbing down onto its neck.

Alden's gauntlets span round until the Yellow chamber locked in. Lightning raced down his blades and he stabbed into the open maw of another Beowolf, he pulled the trigger and a lightning bolt shot straight through its skull and fried another Beowolf behind it. He blinked out as another smaller Beowolf charged him. He reappeared beside it and swung up- carving it in two. He looked up to see another Beowolf pouncing on him but suddenly it collapsed, skidding across the ground and stopping at his feet. Maya reappeared, standing where the Beowolf was. Alden nodded to her in thanks.

They could hear several more growls as more Beowolves emerged from the woods- too many for their weakened state.

"Nite, get Aegan up. We're leaving!" Alden yelled behind him as he slashed the head off another Beowolf. Nite got to her feet and wrapped Aegan's arm around her neck, supporting his weight. They began to push forwards, Maya in front, Alden behind carving their way through the swarm of Grimm. Once Aegan came round he was able to take his own weight and they began to run, endlessly pursued by the mass behind them. They surrounded Aegan as they ran, they couldn't afford for a Grimm to reach him.

However, luck was definitely not on their side. They soon began to smell smoke, but surrounded by Grimm they had no other choice but to push on. _They were being herded_. Soon they were sounded by the forest fire, and they had nowhere to run. Aegan had even drawn his scythes and was using their pistol form to shoot the oncoming Grimm.

"Any Ideas?" Nite worriedly said as she decapitated another Grimm with her Whip sword, "cause' we're out of options!"

Alden thought for a second, the others couldn't be that far ahead, and if Yang or Ruby was with them… Alden reloaded the fire dust magazines and blinked out, he reappeared in mid-air. He faced the cliff of their destination and fired a salvo of projectiles towards it and hoped someone got the message…

The going was slow, Ren had got hurt and couldn't travel very fast. He was rested slightly on Nora and the others had fanned out in a large circle to make sure no Grimm could sneak up on them.

"How long is this going to take?" Weiss complained as she began to drag her feet across the ground.

"It won't be long now." came Blake's very simple reply.

"But I'm boooooored…." Ruby moaned.

They all looked up as several explosions ripped through the air overhead, Ruby and Yang looked at each other. They could recognise the timing of the explosions and knew what weapon they belonged to.

"Well…" Yang began "You're not going to be bored for very long." She told Ruby. Yang then looked at Pyrrha, Nora, and Jaune. "Get Ren to the cliff. We've gotta help someone" She and Ruby took off back towards the forest.

"Where are you going!?" Weiss called out after them.

"Come on!" Ruby called back.

Blake just shrugged and sprinted off, Weiss just growled and followed suit...

They were getting desperate, the air was so hot that they struggled to breathe. The Grimm were getting so close now that Maya and Alden weren't shooting, they were constantly locked in melee. They couldn't go back or right because there was a massive pile of burning trees and they couldn't go forwards or left as there was an endless tide of Grimm bearing down on them.

Suddenly a flash of gold raced through the group and slammed into the Grimm Alden was fighting, the flash then detonated against it and the Grimm was sent flying. Yang stood triumphantly as Ruby sped from the side, decapitating five Grimm in quick succession. Blake engaged the Beowolf Maya was locked against, freeing her up and Weiss dowsed the flames behind the group before using Myrtenaster to create a large arc of fire in front of them- cutting the Grimm off.

Seeing the opening Nite and Aegan fell back, soon followed by everyone else- pursued by the angry roars of disappointed Grimm.

"Took you long enough," Alden told Yang as they ran.

"Are you telling me that you _weren't_ able to take on that many Grimm?" She jested back. Aden laughed.

"Thanks for coming." He told her, more sincere this time.

"Don't worry about it," Yang replied.

They soon caught up to the others and were introduced to Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and Jaune. The now large group of young hunters continued un-harassed to the bottom of the cliff. They began to scale the cliff face, it was slow and perilous but they were methodical enough that no one slipped. They clambered to the top of the cliff to find that all the other students had made it there before them, they were all gathered in groups talking about their adventures in the forest.

Glynda noted down that they had arrived and began to quietly converse with Ozpin.

The twelve students turned and looked out over the forest and the large plume of black smoke rising from it.

"How did that fire start anyway?" Alden asked. Weiss pointedly looked and Ruby who looked away and blushed.

"Everyone! Gather round!" Glynda called out. All the students ambled over to her, all listening to what she had to say. "Your results have all been collected and processed. We shall retire to the atrium for the Team ceremony."

Goodwitch and Ozpin walked back towards Beacon and the students slowly began to follow them. The walk back to Beacon was much livelier than the walk out of it. Everyone was talking to newfound friends about new adventures. As they entered the school they were greeted with cheers, applause, and whistles from the students in older years. They were led through the winding corridors again and into the Amphitheatre. The room was even more packed this time as some of the older students were there to watch the ceremony.

Alden stood with the rest of his newfound friends as Ozpin and Glynda took to the stage. Ozpin held his hand up and the Amphitheatre became deathly silent.

"Everyone would agree that the initiation test is one of the most important lessons of teamwork, cooperation, survival, and strategy," Ozpin said as he looked over the assembled group of students. "Although these lessons should be taken to heart, it should also be remembered as your first adventure here at Beacon, and one of the most important because it is in the foundry of the emerald forest that teams are forged. So without further ado, I shall present the teams."

Ozpin called out several names of students in groups of four, when he called them out the students walked onto the stage and he presented what piece they picked as well as their team name.

He rattled out several teams but none of their friends had been picked out. It wasn't long before that changed.

"Nite Lakeire, Alden Cirq, Aegan Losaw, and Maya Aletha," Ozpin called out. They looked at Each other one last time before stepping up onto the stage. Pictures of their faces appeared on the screen above them. "The four of you collected the white bishop pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as… Team MANA. Led by… Maya Aletha." A round of applause rang out from the Audience. Alden looked at Maya and smiled, she looked surprised that she had been chosen. Alden thought that she was the best choice.

They walked off stage and only three more teams were left to be called out: CRDL, JNPR, and RWBY. Jaune and Ruby got picked as leaders for their teams. The three teams gathered back together in the atrium. The noise was deafening as everyone was shouting to be heard over one another.

Glynda stood by the exit doors, but her voice came over the intercom to be heard. "Will all first-year students follow me, please? I will lead you to your team dormitories." With that, the inhabitants of the Atrium funnelled out and headed deeper into Beacon.

**A/N: So... that's the formation of team MANA. I would like to ask everyone for a tiny bit of feedback: hopefully, by now you may have realised that I have tried to keep this as close to the show as possible, so for example, if you do not see anyone who _could_ pose as any member of MANA, they are not there. (e.g in the emerald forest it only follows RWBY and JNPR so none of those characters from either team appear until after the nevermore is killed. (Which meant they were in a position to help MANA without breaking the timeline of the show) So, do you like it that MANA is running along the sidelines and not impacting "timeline" or would you prefer it so that they appear and I give a spin on the timeline that includes them? OR would you prefer it that they don't impact the story too much but appear in major events such as the breach of Vale (with the train.)**

**so please leave a review or PM me and also leave any mistakes that you see, I want this to be as good as I feel the story deserves to be- (you'll find out later but I got some BIG ideas for this story that fills some of the holes that I feel were left unexplained during the show.) Thanks for your time everyone and I'll see you in chapter 3!**


	4. Chapter 3: Of Friends and Family

Chapter 3: Of Friends and Family

The hallways were so crowded that Alden had to keep a constant eye out on his new teammates to make sure he was still with them. They all filed out the Amphitheatre and through several corridors before entering into a large courtyard at the centre of the academy, there was a large fountain and several older students could be seen sitting by its base.

Glynda led the students into a large building on the side of the courtyard, they all squeezed through the double doors and fun themselves in a small entryway with hallways leading off in nearly every direction. Glynda stopped and faced the assembled group of students.

"This is your year's dormitories, treat them as your home… because they are. Each room is empty, the tags on the outside of each door can only be unlocked by the scroll of a member of the team the room is assigned to and any other person they wish to allow. The rooms are currently unassigned but can be claimed by a team leader's scroll. So chose one which fits your fancy and it will be your home while you are here at Beacon." She waved her hand in dismissal and the students swarmed into the hallways, keen to get a spot they liked.

"To the top!" Ruby called out and all of the members of teams RWBY, JNPR and MANA headed for their stairs nearby and raced to the top of the building. It was mostly empty up here for now as only a few other teams had the same idea. They kept going until they came to a dead end. A few of the rooms down here had already been claimed but there were more than enough for them. RWBY and MANA took two of the rooms on the left, next to each other. JNPR took one on the right, across the hall from RWBY.

Maya slid her scroll against the tag next to their door, it beeped and it clicked as it unlocked. She pushed the door open and they all walked into their new room. It was cosey but had plenty of space for all of them. There were several desks for studying on, shelves literally littered every wall of the room and in every corner was a bed.

In the centre of the wall facing out onto the courtyard was one very large arched window, providing plenty of light even in the late afternoon, however, there were still artificial lamps in the ceiling and each desk had a lamp.

They each walked to a bed: Alden went for the back right- by the window, Maya- the back left, Aegan- the front right and Nite- the front left. They sat down and silence filled the room. Apart from Alden and Aegan they had all just met that day and suddenly they were thrust into a life where they would have to live together. But they just fought through the emerald forest and faced Grimm, heights, and other horrible forms of death together.

They could make it work.

The room was suddenly filled with soft chuckles and giggles as they all came to grips of what had happened that day.

"We've gotten fired off a cliff, fell off a canyon, fought a massive swarm of Grimm and climbed another cliff as well as suddenly being put into a team where we'll have to live together for the next four years. And in all of that, we've never even had the time to introduce ourselves!" Nite howled with laughter, everyone joined it. As ridiculous as it sounded- she had a point. Alden thought like he had been with these people for years and yet he only knew their names and what weapons they had.

It took a few minutes for them to calm down. But when they were on their last few hiccups there was a knock on the door. Aegan got up and opened it, he looked around to see a team of people with a large trolley moving around the corridor leaving various bags by the doors, knocking and then moving on. He looked down and recognised his own luggage within the pile. He pulled them in and shut the door.

As everyone in the room came to realise what Aegan had brought in, they got up and collected their stuff before moving back to their beds.

"Anyway," Nike began, "So, I'm Nike Lakeire, I live in Vacuo but wanted to come to Beacon and so… here I am. I gotta feel sorry for you guys because you're the only people I know!" They all chuckled and began to open their bags and pulled out some clothes and other necessities for the night ahead. But Aegan kept up the trend.

"I'm Aegan Losaw, Wolf Faunus in case you haven't noticed. I live in Vale, near the outskirts." He said whilst unpacking some underwear and stuffing it in the drawer next to his bed.

"Maya Aletha," Alden noticed that she didn't even bother telling them what kind of Faunus she was, "I live just outside the centre of Vale," Maya said whilst taking out a toothbrush.

"Alden Cirq," Alden said when it was his turn. "I live in Patch," he turned to Nite "which is a small island just off the coast of Vale."

"Ah," Nite said, Alden realised that she hadn't heard of Patch before he had even finished his sentence.

They began to do some light unpacking, just enough that they wouldn't be hindered in the morning, they also explored a bit and checked out the bathrooms attached to their rooms. They were small but there were two in every dorm room just in case a mixed gender team inhabited them. Still, they contained everything they would need: a toilet, two sinks and mirrors as well as a small corner shower.

Time seemed to travel quickly as the newly assembled team made small talk and got to know each other better, Maya had sat on the chair by her desk, Nite was looking at the window down at the courtyard, Aegan had sprawled out across his bed looking at the ceiling but still contributing to the conversation, and Alden sat cross-legged on his bed with his back against the headboard.

Alden's ringtone sounded throughout the room from his pocket, he took it out, pushed in the yellow button and pulled it apart to see who was ringing him- it was Mary. He pressed the answer button and Mary's excited face filled the screen.

"Alden!" Mary said, excited to see him, "You didn't call last night, and you didn't seem like you were going to call today!"

Alden smiled at his sister. "Mary, I was in a hall with about a hundred other people last night so I didn't think you guys would appreciate that. As of today, I was thinking about calling you in a couple of minutes, but you beat me to it."

Alden saw the roof behind Mary change as she walked from the kitchen into the sitting room, she sat down on the sofa and two more faces appeared either side- his parents.

"Alden!" His mother began, "How are you?"

"Hey, guys! I'm good," Alden said as he settled back against the wall, he noticed the other members of MANA were watching his interactions with his family. "We went through initiation today…"

"Did you fight any Grimm?" Mary interrupted.

"Umm…" Alden said as the dorm room was filled with sniggers about the irony of the statement. "You could say so…"

"Who are the voices in the background?" His father asked.

"Hmm? Oh, those are my teammates." Alden said he pressed a button for to switch to the front camera and pointed it around the room.

"This is our room, that there is Aegan," he said pointing towards the corner, "That is Nite by the window, and sitting on the chair is Maya the team leader." All the members of MANA waved at the camera when he said their names.

"Oh! What's the team name?" Mary asked nearly jumping up and down on the sofa, like Ruby she could get overexcited about these things.

"MANA," he told her.

"Alden, is that your family?" Maya asked from the desk. Alden nodded.

"Ooh, make space." She told him. Alden turned sideways and shuffled up to the middle of the bed, Maya got up and sat beside him so she could see his scroll and waved at his family. The rest of MANA came to sit beside them and introductions were exchanged.

"So, have you got up to anything exciting?" Ogora asked.

"If you count saving your son's arse several times every couple of minutes then yes."

The Cirqs on the scroll erupted in laughter, Alden looked at Maya jokingly offended.

"_When_ did you save my arse?" he asked her.

"When that Grimm pounced after we got to the other side of the Canyon."

"You didn't save me, you just killed it when it got near." Alden retaliated

"What were you going to do about it then?" Maya retorted

"Shoot it!"

"You were out of ammo!" Maya laughed.

"I had switched to lightning dust, I had plenty!"

The Cirqs heads moved left to right, tracing the tennis match of an argument but smiling nevertheless.

"Aww, I wished I could have been there…" Mary said with a wistful look in her eyes.

"Oh! And talking of such things… Ruby got accelerated into Beacon." Alden said.

"Really!? Typical… well, it explains why she wasn't at signal today." Mary huffed.

"Hey, you'll get your chance," Alden reassured her.

They kept talking for a bit longer but soon, the moon peeked over the top of another building.

"It's getting late, and we've got classes tomorrow so I'm going to have to say goodnight," Alden said after he yawned.

"Alright call again soon." His mother said. Alden nodded and rang off.

"Your family is really nice," Aegan said.

Alden nodded, "Could never ask for anyone better."

"Alright everyone lights out," Maya said. They got changed for the night, Aegan flicked the light and a small chorus of "goodnight" went around the room. They all then buried themselves under their covers and the room was silent.

An alarm sounded throughout the room. Thankfully Maya silenced it before it became too irritating. Alden yawned and sat up. He looked at the alarm clock: 7:00 AM. He groggily got to his feet and walked into the bathroom. Whilst he was absentmindedly brushing his teeth he noticed Aegan walk in and start doing the same, he too looked like a zombie. After he was finished he splashed some water on his face to help him wake up and turned back out the bathroom.

He opened the door to find Maya neatening the covers on the bed, she was humming to herself very quietly and her tail was slightly swishing from side to side. He closed the door behind him which caused Maya to look over her shoulder.

"Morning." She said, before turning back to what she was doing.

"Morning," Alden replied and cleaned his own part of the dorm room. Both Aegan and Nite soon joined them. Once they had cleaned the room they began the arduous process of unpacking. Mostly it was unpacking clothes and various other personal items such as the occasional poster and Alden placed the black stuffed dog toy on the nightstand, which he quickly had to explain it was a lucky charm from his parents to several pairs of raised eyebrows. Also, they unpacked lots of books, both personal and textbooks so that nearly all the shelves were filled but with some space left.

When they were finished they stood by the door and examined their handiwork. The dorm room finally looked like it was lived in, it was slightly cramped, but with their bags stuffed under the beds, there was plenty of room to walk around.

"There we go," Maya said. "Good work everyone." She walked over to the desk and opened a book to reveal a timetable. "Right so our first class is in half an hour so we better get ready for it and we can drop by the canteen on the way."

Aegan walked up to one of the wardrobes in the room. "Now if I remember correctly there should be…" He opened the door to reveal a few sets of black and red uniforms. "Yep, here we are!"

They all headed to their own respective wardrobes and took out their uniforms. In a few minutes they were changed, the uniforms were surprisingly comfortable- even though they looked itchy. As Alden was finishing his tie he looked over to Maya her to see her fiddling with her jacket at the back.

"Stupid… tail."

"Having fun?" Alden asked.

She turned and glared at him. "Don't laugh."

Alden held his hands up "I wasn't."

She sighed and then walked over to her bag and pulled out a knife.

"Are you seriously about to take a knife to the school uniform?" Nite asked.

"Well, they haven't exactly designed it to fit everyone," Maya said as she was looking over her shoulder and lining up the knife.

"That is not going to end well…" Aegan said suspiciously looking at the knife.

"Well, what else am I Supposed to do?" Maya replied.

"Hang on," Alden said and walked over. He took the knife from her hands and walked behind her. He pushed the jacket against her back to find the "bulge" of the base of her tail sticking out. He visualised a circle where her tail would fit before pulling her jacket back. Alden very gently cut out the fabric, he placed the discarded piece on the desk before reaching through the hole and very gently grabbed the base of her tail, he pulled it through the hole but he noticed Maya flinch.

"Are you OK?" he asked. All she did was nod but Alden could swear she looked nervous.

"There we go." He said and backed off, you couldn't even tell that a hole had been cut into the uniform.

"Thanks," Maya said, "That's much more comfortable."

"Right then," Nite began "I'm hungry." She said and walked out the door, the rest of MANA not far behind. They all headed down the stairs and out into the courtyard. It was much busier this time of morning as several teams had grabbed breakfast but then moved outside to enjoy a bit of the morning air before going to class.

They walked around the fountain and headed for the canteen. Inside there were even more teams milling around and eating breakfast. They walked up to the serving area and all grabbed various breakfasts: from pancakes to bacon and eggs. They all moved down to the back of the hall and sat at one of the only empty tables left. As they were walking he looked around to see if he could spot anyone from JNPR or RWBY but none of them were present.

"So, what have we got first?" Aegan asked, his mouth only slightly full with pancakes. Maya reached into her pocket and brought out her scroll. She expanded and tapped a few times to reveal a few pictures she had taken of their timetable.

"First is… History with a doctor Oobleck." Maya said.

Someone winced as they walked passed them, they looked like an older student but not by much- maybe the year above? She had long brown hair which ran down her back, nothing particularly out of the ordinary except the two rabbit ears sticking out of the top of her head.

"Doctor Oobleck can seem a bit… hyperactive at first, he probably isn't the best to have as your first lesson. But give him time." She said.

"Thanks for the heads up," Maya said smiling, before a look of recognition passed over her face. "Velvet!?"

The name caused the girl to look more closely and a similar expression appeared on her too.

"Maya!?" She sprinted around the table and Maya got up, the hugged in greeting.

"Oh, I haven't seen you in ages!" Maya said. She pulled back before turning to the rest of her team. "Guys, this is Velvet, a good friend of mine." The Faunus waved. "Velvet, these are my teammates: Aegan, Nite and Alden." They all waved in greeting.

"Nice to meet you." She said before turning back to Maya "We'll talk later." And then walked off to find her team.

They finished their breakfasts in relative silence. When they were done they all stood up and deposited their empty trays. They turned and headed for the exit. However, Alden did not fail to notice a group of boys- Team CRDL if he remembered correctly look at Maya and Aegan whilst whispering between themselves and sniggering with evil glints in their eyes. He couldn't help but clench his fists and walk on, hoping nothing will come of it.


	5. Chapter 4: Shadowblink

Chapter 4: Shadowblink

The hallways were busy as the students muscled their way through the crowd. They turned left, then left again, carried on for a bit before turning right twice and then left further down before finally they came face to face with a door saying

_History- Doctor Oobleck:_

They opened the door and walked in. There a few students already here but considering the small number it was likely there were more to come. The room was large and nearly semi-circular in nature. At the front was a large desk- presumably for this "Doctor Oobleck." Littered around it were stacks upon stacks of paper and other books. Around the corners of the room were several large bookcases- also filled to the brim.

They found some seats along the large curved tables taking up the back of the room. As they sat down several more students filed in and also sat down. Soon after a blur dashed into a room. Now standing in the middle of the classroom was a lanky green haired man, with opaque glasses and carrying a mug of coffee.

"Welcome students!" he immediately paused to take a sip from his mug. "In this classroom, I hope to arm you with the power of knowledge, whenever you leave you will all be a little wiser and better equipped to deal with what this world can throw at you." He took another sip. "So! Let's begin!"

Oobleck dashed around the classroom, he sometimes pointed out something on his board, and he sometimes shot up to one of the students and demanded an answer. Alden looked around a bit, he noticed that many of his fellow classmates looked incredibly bored during the lesson. Alden was no intellectual but he found himself oddly enjoying the fast pace of it all. It kept him on his toes, in case he was asked a question. It was much like a battle: fast paced, lots of things going on and a single misstep could lead to a falter.

Alden was so engrossed with trying to keep up that he did not notice the time running by so fast. He nearly jumped when he heard the bell sound out at the end of the lesson. Everyone gathered up their various papers and equipment before standing.

"That will be all everyone! If I am not mistaken I will see you all tomorrow!" Was Oobleck's final words of departure before they all ambled out of the classroom.

"What now?" Nite asked. Maya pulled out her scroll, she brought up the picture before pressing another Icon, and she selected their names before swiping up. All their scrolls beeped and when they pulled them out they saw a picture of the timetable.

"Ooo. Combat class with professor Goodwitch." Aegan said. "Which is… this way."

They yet again struck out into the hallways, this time it took longer than usual; because their destination was on the other side of the packed school. When they arrived they were met by Professor Goodwitch.

"Hello everyone. Before we start today and for future reference before we start our lessons please go to the changing rooms and change into your combat gear and collect your weapons in case you are chosen to fight." They all walked to either side and hastily got changed and collected their weapons. Alden always loved the reassuring "click" his gauntlets made when they secured onto his arm. As they walked back into the dark amphitheater he noticed that both teams RWBY and JNPR was there.

Alden was the first of MANA to leave the changing rooms, he looked across the seated students and noticed Yang was waving him over. Behind him, Aegan walked out and Alden led him over. They sat next to their friends, Maya and Nite soon joined them. Goodwitch walked to the centre of the stage.

"The purpose of this class is simple. Fights will take place from anything between singles, up to several teams. They will fight until one side capitulated or until someone's Aura reaches critical levels." She then gazed out over the students with a _very _stern expression.

"However while I plan to train you in the art of combat it is useless if someone gets killed. So remember: There is only one rule in this class, and that is: _My. Word. Is. Law. _If I tell you to stop fighting, you stop. If I tell you to back away from your openent- you back away. If I am ignored I will not hesitate to have you expelled. Have I made myself clear?"

She was met with nods from all the students in the class.

"Good. So without further ado, each student will face off in singles rounds with another student for me to get a feel of your fighting capabilities so you can be put with fair partners."

She walked up to the first student along the front row of seats- Maya.

"Young lady, you're up. Chose a partner of your choice and report to the ring."

Maya stood up and walked down the stairs before standing on the centre of the stage. Her eyes drifted over the students before her eyes landed on Alden and stayed there. Alden grinned and stood, he wanted her to choose him. It became evident in the emerald forest that their fighting styles complemented each other very well and he was hoping a chance to be able to have a proper face off against her.

Alden jogged down the stairs and stood opposite Maya on the stage.

Maya drew her sword from her hip, the handle folded out and the blade curved round as it extended into its glaive form, she rested the handle across her shoulder blade, the weapon hanging behind her. Alden's gauntlets folded out across his arm, the chamber didn't spin and the blades did not come out, he had a trick up his sleeve…

But yet, he was almost certain that Maya was going to do something similar.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know," Nite replied, "You should have seen them when they weren't tired, these two are _beasts_ when it comes to a fight."

"Yeah, but have you seen Alden's Semblance? It counters pretty much every fighting style." Yang said.

"Not necessarily," Aegan said, "Maya goes invisible, which can out wait Alden, as he can't stay in between teleports, he has to reappear. Either way, this fight is going to be close. And awesome…"

"Alright, the fight shall begin in 3…

2…

1…

Begin!"

Alden and Maya instantly vanished. The room was silent. Nothing happened.

"Oh, come on!" Aegan said.

Alden reappeared outside the classroom. He leaned up against the side of the door and peeked through the window. The stage was empty except a very confused Professor Goodwitch. Maya wasn't there, Alden smiled to himself, _of course__ she was going to do it too._ Some footsteps behind him made him turn around, professor Ozpin was looking at him quizzically.

"I'm in a fight, but my partner can turn invisible. I'm trying to wait her out." He explained. Ozpin took a sip of his coffee

"An interesting strategy. But remember, sometimes waiting may force your opponent to show their hand, but it still may be better than yours. Playing early can force them into a disadvantage, by letting them believe that they have the upper hand." Ozpin said as he walked up to the window in the door and looked at the students gazing around- searching for any sign of the pair.

"Your friend Yang," Ozpin began again, "She has a bold presence on the battlefield, although intimidating. No one will underestimate her. For those who at least _appear_ to be simple can easily use hubris as a weapon. Underestimating your opponent is the easiest and worst mistake to make."

Maya flickered into visibility in the centre of the stage, turning slowly- trying to bait Alden into breaking cover and get the fight started.

"Your opponent is ready," Ozpin said looking at Alden "I wish you luck." Alden nodded in thanks before flashing purple and vanishing. No one saw it but Ozpin's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. He had seen this kind of effect before. He took a sip of the coffee and turned back to the window.

Alden reappeared directly behind Maya and tried to grab her glaive and disarm her. Maya felt the tug on the handle and knew who it was. She spun and twisted the handle trying to break his hold.

Alden twisted with the handle and kept the momentum going, trying to unbalance Maya. However, she kept spinning and kicked out, knocking his legs out from under him. Alden tumbled forward and Maya swung her glaive round to try and knock him on his back. Alden blinked out and reappeared off to her. The Blades sprung out of the gauntlets, he pointed them behind him and fired, the recoiled shoving him towards her.

Alden jumped and spun in mid-air, but his attack was blocked by Maya and she pushed upwards. Alden backflipped and landed on his feet facing her just in time to block a would-be grazing blow to his shoulder. Alden twirled backward and tried to use the momentum to strike a blow behind Maya's guard. She easily danced out the way before jabbing over her head.

Alden sidestepped, grabbed the handle and pulled. As Maya was unbalanced he rushed forward and his blade grazed the side of her Aura, it flickered slightly. Maya quickly backed up and Alden spared a glance to his wrist, Maya's Aura had taken a small hit but nothing significant.

He heard a rattling sound before a loud "BANG!" He instinctively blinked out again and reappeared on the other side of the arena, a dust fireball careered through the area he was just standing in. He blinked at the now empty gap before pointing his arm at Maya. The dust chamber spun around and the ice magazine locked in. He fired twice- two long icicles raced towards her but she spun he glaive and shattered the projectiles before they hit her.

It was now Maya's turn to vanish. Alden was tempted to repeat his tactic of hiding until she showed herself again. But this time he heeded Ozpin's advice and waited. Alden was paying very close attention to any sound he heard, hoping to detect some footsteps. He heard nothing, and he could see nothing either. Any minute now he was expecting to feel Maya's glaive slamming him in the chest. He suddenly felt something tickling his arm, and it was moving- _her tail._ Alden rolled to his side, but not quick enough as he took a full on hit from her weapon. He skidded across the ground and from the corner of his eye he saw that his Aura had dropped below half.

Alden's Aura was very efficient when it came to using his semblance, "blinking" would hardly drain his aura. However it wasn't very strong when it came to physical attacks, he would always have to try and use his semblance to avoid being hit in the first place.

However, he knew where she was now. He thumbed a button on his triggers and the barrels shortened and grew wider. He pointed them in the general direction of where he used to be and pulled the triggers. Two streams of fine dust particles flowed out from the barrels and he effectively covered the area in snow. Standing in the middle of it all was the outline of a person.

Alden shot to his feet and rushed, trying to capitalise on the situation after he had stunned Maya. She blocked his first attack and countered but Alden easily jumped over her glaive. This was where he discovered a new issue, He may be able to see Maya but she just shook the dust off her weapon. He had to guess where it was. Thankfully by now, he had some idea as to what her fighting style was. He raised his left blade to cover near his face and felt the shock wave go through his arm as he successfully predicted her attack.

He pushed forward and swiped his legs out, tripping Maya up. She fizzled back into visibility as she fell. She did not stay down for long however as she flipped over her back and faced Alden. This time though her blade was covered in fire. They clashed in the middle, sparks flying into the air. They were making mad slashes and stabs at each other, trying desperately to get a hit in. They were both successful, their auras flashed brightly as they were brought just above critical levels.

Alden would swing up, just to be blocked by Maya's blade. So he would use his other arm to swing down, just to be blocked by the handle. Maya would then push up and try and force him back so Alden blinked out and appeared behind her, She swung her glaive behind her back to deflect a hit before turning around and pulling the blade down. They both fired, the resulting explosion throwing them both up and away from each other, they landed on their feet before firing again- cannoning themselves towards forwards.

Alden had switched to fire dust before charging in and they met in mid-air, fire against fire. The energy of which they threw themselves at each other built as their momentums were carrying each other forwards. The massive explosion ripped through the air pushing them both to each side of the arena, they, however, could not compensate for the fall and slammed into the ground. Their Auras flickered and then shattered at the force of the impact, the fight coming to an automatic end.

The room as silent for a few seconds before erupting into applause and cheers. Maya and Alden groggily got to their feet. Hurting all over as the auras hadn't taken all the impact.

"And that is… the first draw we have ever seen." Glynda said, looking surprised at her large scroll, "You two are to be commended. Please take a seat."

They nodded before meeting each other in the middle and shook hands.

"That was a good fight!" Maya said out of breath.

Alden nodded "Now I know what it's like for people when I teleport, not knowing where you were was _terrifying_."

Maya laughed as they headed back towards the seats. "Before I hit you that time you turned to face me directly. How did you know I was there?" she asked curiously.

"I think your tail brushed against my arm," Alden answered.

"Ah, that would explain it. I will have to keep it way next time." She said as they sat down next to their friends and were absolutely swamped by them.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Nora shouted at them over the chatting crowds.

"I've never seen a draw before!" Ruby gushed.

"I must admit it was an impressive spectacle." Ren calmly commented.

There were a few more fights for the rest of the lesson, Yang fought Ruby- Yang won, just. Nite went up against Blake- Blake one but Nite gave Blake a run for her money.

Aegan, however, went up against a member from CRDL. It had every member of MANA, RWBY, and JNPR on the edge of their seats. In every battle that had happened that lesson, it was all good fun and games. This guy- Russel, seemed to have a sadistic joy whenever he got a hit on Aegan. Luckily, Aegan was no pushover. He managed to throw one his scythes around his leg and pull him off balance before, quite literally- _punching_ the aura out of him.

They all stood and cheered as Aegan was declared a winner and he jogged triumphantly back to his teammates. They were soon dismissed for lunch and they all headed for the Cafeteria and found a table with enough space for all of them.

"That was fun!" Nite said as she sat down before looking at Blake, "You, are a seriously good fighter." Blake simply blushed and smiled but said nothing. They were happily chatting away as team CRDL walked past the group, Russel in particular deliberately collided with Aegan, shoving him into Alden. He laughed and walked off before Aegan could retaliate.

"Coward." He said under his breath. Alden narrowed his eyes at the form of Russel walking off. He grabbed a grape and flicked it across the room, it hit him right in the ear. Russel turned to see who could have thrown it. His eyes landed where team MANA was but they were all talking like nothing had happened, he had his suspicions, but he walked off.

They only had one lesson left that day: Grimm, with a professor Port. He was… eccentric and instead of really talking about how to beat the creatures of Grimm, he talked about his own adventures- some of which were clearly exaggerated but Alden could tell there was a lot of history and experience behind this man.

Along the back wall of the classroom were several anatomical diagrams of various species of Grimm. From Beowolves to Boarbatusks, from Deathstalkers to Nevermores. They eventually did get onto the actual topic of Grimm and how to beat various species as well as "the correct values of a hunter."

Alden had to admit he started to lose concentration, it was mid-afternoon and he was tired after his body regenerating all of his Aura back, and all of this new information was pinging over his head. So he settled for just trying to write anything of importance down and then he would go over it later.

Thankfully they were eventually excused from the lesson and everyone hurriedly packed their things and virtually ran out of the classroom.

"Ugh- I thought that was never going to end…" Alden groaned.

"Tell me about it…" Nite agreed.

"Well generally when you are bored, our brains focus more on the passing of time wishing it to pass, but it actually makes it seem lon…" Alden began with a sarcastic smile on his face but was quickly silenced by Nite smacking him upside the head.

They headed out into the courtyard, past the fountain and up into their dorm room. They got changed in more comfortable clothes and reconvened in their room.

Maya pulled her scroll out of her pocket and checked the time. "Well, we've got the rest of today off so there plenty of time to kill. Any suggestions?"

Nite slowly raised her hand. "Umm... I haven't actually been into the city yet, so if you guys don't mind possibly showing me around?"

Maya smiled "Sounds perfect… actually, I know just the place. Dinners on me."

They got up and headed out of the building. They traversed through the main Beacon structure and out to the Jetties where an airship was getting ready to take off. They rushed inside. There were a few other students seeking passage into the town. The airship slowly pulled away and headed for the city.

As they were flying they pointed out several points of interest, there was a massive park that apparently Maya and Aegan knew well, and there were various shops and museums that were worth a visit. Alden even pointed out signal tower and the rest of Patch while they were at it.

It didn't take long before the airship touched down and they walked out into the airport.

"You should recognise here," Aegan said and Nite nodded in confirmation. They walked further out. They passed a few dust shops which were pointed out, as well as a few extra small stores selling bits and bobs that they liked.

They walked over a small bridge covering a river and into a large public square, they crossed this too and headed into what looked like a restaurant: "Mill-house Hill" Inside was very cosy, it was small, but not tiny. There were several lamps and other lights keeping giving the place a warm glow and the tables were lined with silverware and fancy cloth and the seating was several times better than the benches at Beacon.

Maya led them up to the main counter and waved at the man behind the till. He was tall with crimson red hair, there were definitely some similarities in face structure between him and Maya. Once he saw her his eyes widened.

"Maya! Good to see you!" He opened the counter and walked out before embracing her in a hug. "It's good of you to drop by!" He looked at the rest of them, "Who are your friends?"

Maya quickly introduced them and they waved before Maya started to explain.

"Guys this is my Uncle John. He runs the place."

"It's good to meet you all." John told them, "If you're here to stay please take a seat and someone will be over. Oh! And Maya, will you be visiting your parents later? Considering you are in town?"

"I would bring these guys to meet them but… my brothers are home currently and…" She jerked her head slightly towards Alden and Nite.

"Ah, yes I see… oh well, plenty of opportunities later."

They all took a seat in a corner table and ordered their meals. As they were eating they talked about their time at Beacon and what was to come. Alden felt incredibly lucky to have made such good friends so early on.

The topic of conversation soon changed.

"I heard a few teams at lunch today talking about this "Huntsman app," Nite began, "it's supposed to expand on the base features of our scroll."

They all pulled out their scrolls and searched for this "app" Aegan found it and sent them a link. They all downloaded it and fired it up. They were able to search for each other and Maya added them to her team room.

When they were added they were able to send each other their location, keep an eye on their signal strengths, Aura levels and there was even a team chat room:

**Maya: **_**Testing**_

**Aegan:** _**This is cool**_

**Alden:** **Handy**

**Nite: huiusdfiuagf**

Maya looked up from her scroll at Nite "really?" she asked

"What?"

"That's now going to plague our team's chatroom for the rest of time now!"

Nite just laughed.

They got up and went to pay for their meal. Since Maya was John's niece she got a massive discount. Before they could leave John gave them each a card.

"Any friend of Maya's is a friend of mine." He said as he handed them the cards:

_The Mill-House Hill_

_Discount card_

_Given by: John Taurus _

_Value: 50%_

They thanked him for his generosity before walking out of the restaurant and into the evening air.

"So… what now?" Aegan asked

"Ice cream." Alden immediately said as he began walking off, he had seen an ice cream stand on the corner. He bought four ice creams, with flakes sticking out of them and handed one each to his friends. They thanked him and together they began walking down the streets, happily licking at their ice creams. They ended up in the large park that Maya had pointed out from the airship.

There were several children running around, their parents not that far away, there were also a few trees dotted about. They walked up to one, Alden took everyone's ice creams as they climbed onto one of the lower branches before handing them up and clambering up himself.

"Well… here's to Team MANA, may it do well in the four years to come." Maya said, raising her cone like it was a glass. Everyone else repeated the gesture.

"I know I only met you all yesterday," Nite began "But I'm finding myself hoping it will last longer than that."

And you know what?

Alden wholeheartedly agreed.


	6. Chapter 5: Green and Red

Chapter 5: Green and Red

On their return to Beacon Aegan and Nite ended up walking slightly ahead, leaving Alden and Maya to their own conversation.

"Your Uncle seemed… lonely?" Alden hesitantly mentioned. Maya nodded sadly.

"His wife died years ago, he ended up forming depression. My cousin, Adam, couldn't handle it and ran away when I was little. We haven't heard from him since… I hope he's doing well, wherever he is."

They were slowly passing under the soft glow of the street lamps, a few passer-byes were wandering about, not paying much attention to the group. The night air was crisp and a slow breeze blew through the streets.

"What's it like in Patch?" Maya asked, "I've never been there."

"It's… peaceful, personally much better scenery than the city." Alden replied. "Maybe if everyone's got some time off soon I can take you all on a field trip, it does wonders for recharging your proverbial batteries."

Maya nodded "I'd like that sometime, the city never really stops you know?"

An owl hooted from a building further down the street. It took off and glided towards them, it passed just an inch above their heads but completely silent. They turned to watch it fly off, it veered off to the side and flew over the top of an alleyway. As Alden watched it go he noticed a flicker at the bottom of his vision.

He looked down to see a shadow- a child's. Once it seemed to notice that Alden was staring it skulked off into the darkness.

"Did you see that?" Alden asked.

"The owl?" Maya replied.

"No, the shadow in the alleyway."

Maya shook her head "I didn't see anything."

Intrigued Alden crossed the road and jogged up to the corner of the Alleyway and peered around. There it was again. The shadow was slowly walking towards the end of the Alleyway, which was a dead end. The shadow resembled a girl, Alden guessed from the size and shape of her she was less than double figures in age. Wondering if she needed help Alden left his cover and stood at the mouth of the Alley.

"Hey… are you allr…" He was interrupted by a sudden explosion of green light. The force hit him like he was punched by Yang in the stomach (Which is a very accurate description). Alden stumbled back, gasping for air.

"Alden?" Maya had jogged over.

"Did you see that?" he asked again pointing down the alleyway.

"See what? You just looked down the alley and then looked like you were hit by a truck…" Maya replied

Alden caught his breath and looked up.

There was nothing there…

No green light…

No shadow of a girl…

The alleyway looked untouched. The force of the explosion that hit Alden should have pushed the bins over and strewn rubbish everywhere. But they were still standing. Alden's eyes widened slightly in shock. He could have _sworn_ he saw the shadow go down here and the blinding light still stung at his eyes.

"What's going on?" Aegan asked. He and Nite appeared to have noticed that Alden and Maya had fallen behind and came to check up on them.

Alden looked back at the Alleyway, double checking if indeed there was nothing there.

"Nothing…" Alden said, Maya looked at him a bit suspiciously but let it slide. They turned and continued onwards. Alden was jumpy however, he kept looking at every alley they passed- always thinking he could see a shadow of a child, sometimes a girl, other times a boy. But when he would look closer they seemed to vanish.

He was also introspecting his thoughts and feelings of the first encounter and a sudden realisation crashed down upon him. It was not pain that had seemed to force all the air out of his lungs, _it was fear._ He was absolutely terrified of the green flash. It wasn't the same fear as everyone had when facing Grimm. Yes, they were teenagers who were armed to the teeth, but everyone, including veteran hunters, were scared of Grimm to some degree. This was unbridled terror, like knowing you were going to die but could do nothing to stop it. His fight or flight response fired up so quick that it paralyzed him.

_But that's stupid_, he scolded himself, _it's a green light… what's so dangerous about the colour green?_

They soon made it back to the airport. It was much quieter now, there was only one airship left to take any students back to Beacon. The docking area was normally full to the brim with commuters during the days but now the entire place was silent, with only the lamp posts to bring light to late students- casting a soft glow over the Tarmac.

They quickly boarded the airship, inside there were only two other teams who had stayed in the city until late. Without the light of day pouring through the window, the only sourced of illumination where the soft blue lights and holographic screens dotted around, coating the area in a soft Cyan colour.

There was a soft murmur as the other teams were talking quietly to one another. Alden felt himself shiver, even though it was in the middle of summer. He didn't see the skeptical look Maya gave him.

The airship shuddered as it slowly lifted off the ground and began its slow journey towards Beacon. Alden yet again found himself staring out over the city, illuminated by thousands of tiny lights slowly drifting by. Maya nudged his shoulder and pointed out the window on the airship's prow.

"Have you ever seen that view before?" Alden looked to see what she was pointing at. He could now see why the school was called "Beacon" The clock faces were glowing a bright green in colour illuminating the entire school grounds. The flagpoles along the main pathway were also alight, guiding in the airship like a lighthouse.

Alden shook his head, "No, I've never been in the city during the night. Signal is pretty but that… wow." He said in wonderment. The airship slowly came to a stop at the side of one of the landing pads. The door on the side of the airship slid open and they disembarked.

The first time Alden saw this view it was incredibly loud, surrounded by excited students trying to make friends. Now it was deathly silent. Alden could almost _feel _the air pushing down on him. As they were walking back towards the main building the glow from the lights killed his already poor night vision, beyond the path it looked like the darkness was a liquid, writhing and reforming, and the unshakable feeling of being watched.

When they reached the pond, where the glow from the lights were less harsh and he could see a bit further beyond he could see another shadow, standing by a tree on the other side of the field. When Alden directly looked at it, it broke from its cover and stared back at him. Its eyes began to glow- one red, the other green. It began emitting a pitch black fog, made barely visible by the light of the moon before seemingly evaporating.

"Alden, what is it?" Nite asked.

"Hmm?" Alden tried to play it off. Nite just crossed her arms of her chest and made a point of looking down at his wrists, Alden followed her gaze to see that Tempest had folded out, the blades slowly sparked with electricity.

"Are you usually this jumpy or…" Nite tried to joke and calm him down. Alden blew out a small snort of laughter before retracting his gauntlets, taking one look back at the tree to make sure the thing had actually gone before carrying on.

The inside of the main entryway of Beacon was lit by a few, small, wall mounted lights that curved around with the wall. A few mirrors in the ceiling seemed to be rotating around, directing a stream of the moonlight into what looked like a well in the centre of the room. They exited the other side and walked out into the courtyards. The central fountain was speckled with silver as the various fragments of the moon reflected light down. The entire courtyard was littered with shadows of buildings, lampposts and the odd person. All of which made Alden feel completely on edge.

They made it into the dormitory building and headed straight for their room. Alden was relieved at the feeling of safety the familiar place had to it. Alden looked at the clock, it was approaching midnight and since they had classes the next day they hurried to get to bed.

A few hours later Alden opened his eyes. Everything seemed… foggy, he couldn't even see what was directly in front of him. But that feeling was back… he was scared shitless, so frightened he felt numb and cold. He saw a very bright red light race towards him. Every fibre of his being urged him to roll or blink to the side, anything _just get out the way._ But he wouldn't budge, he wasn't in control. Before it hit him the light was countered by another, this one green… the lights intercepted each other and exploded, with the sound of shattering windows and cracked stone. The heat wave washed over him and he winced.

He stumbled back a few steps and his arm brushed against another, someone else was with him. He heard screams of frightened children as the lights shot towards each other again, causing another earth shattering explosion to ripple through the air. From the grunts and the growls in front of him Alden could tell hat it was a pair locked in a dual, he could feel the hurt emotions wash off both of them like a tidal wave. The one projecting the green light always came from directly in front of Alden, whenever the people he was with moved, the person did too. Alden assumed they were trying to protect them.

The light show carried on for several minutes, every time the lights collided, the heat wave washed over them, searing his hair. However, this time when the lights combined this time the green one seemed to shatter and fade. The red light slammed at Alden's feet and sent him flying. The force of the projectile shattered what little aura he had and several glass and stone fragments punctured his abdomen. Once he slammed back to the ground he tried to breathe to counter the shock his body was going into, only to find that he couldn't. A long glass shard had punctured through his side and both of his lungs. He couldn't see, he couldn't breathe.

The fog began to clear, he saw several other pairs of eyes, all young girls- three of them, laying prone on the ground, the eyes slowly turning as white as snow as they stared blankly back at him. His eyes focused on something closer. A small black stuffed dog toy. A small lock of blonde hair fell across his eyes and whoever's eyes he was seeing through reached out to the toy, a very small hand, a girl's hand to be precise. It tried to clasp around the toy but failed, he registered feelings of immense pain and grief for just a few seconds before everything collapsed into black…

And he felt nothing…

Alden shot up out of his bed, his chest heaving as his body seemed to think he was out of air. His eyes darted around the room wildly, like a corned animal. Even his fists clenched and his arms retracted slightly- the action he used to deploy his gauntlets. He began to slightly calm down as he realised where he was.

The door on his left opened, Alden's attention rounded on the disturbance. The light was off in the room so everything was coasted in shadows. A red tail was the first thing visible in the moonlight as the rest of Maya followed, stepping backwards as she was closing the door to the bathroom. As she turned, she saw Alden sitting up against the headboard, his chest still moving too quickly to be natural. Not wanting to wake the others up, she tilted her head to the side, raised her eyebrow and flicked her tail to the side in a questioning manner.

"Nothing, just a small nightmare," Alden whispered. He looked to the side to avoid eye contact and further pressing by Maya but instead, came face to face with a small, black, stuffed toy… dog. Ok, it wasn't the exact same dog that he saw in his vision, but the likeliness was uncanny. The form was the same, even the red ribbon around its neck was there. But the eyes were small glass beads rather than two buttons. He felt himself nearly jump out of his skin and his breathing returned to its erratic pace as a few vague memories of his dream came crashing down upon him.

He looked back to see that Maya had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot, her tail was actually swishing from side to side, making quiet scuffing noises as the end hairs brushed against Alden's bed, clearly unconvinced it was simply "nothing."

"You've been acting weird since you looked down that alleyway." She noted, waiting for an explanation. All Alden could do was shrug.

"I don't know, I feel like I'm in a state of constant déjà vu, like I'm remembering things that haven't happened. I'm sure it will pass, don't worry about me."

Maya just stared at him for a few seconds, still unsatisfied, but unable to push further. She walked back to her own bed and slipped under the covers. Alden settled back down and closed his eyes.

When he awoke again, Alden felt much better, the events of the previous night barely a footnote on his memory. He began going through his morning routine, nodding in greeting to Aegan when he entered the bathroom because he couldn't speak due to the toothbrush in his mouth. When everyone had finished and had gotten dressed they ambled down to the cafeteria for breakfast.

They picked up their trays and looked around for a place. Luckily a group sitting near their friends got up and walked off, leaving the space free. They wandered over, Alden shaking his head and grinning seeing that Ruby had a plate with two cookies on it and literally nothing else.

Nite and Aegan sat beside Blake, Alden slid in next to Ren and Maya began to make a move to sit beside him.

"What we' talking about?" Maya asked.

"Jaune and Cardin," Nora replied.

"Oh, _him_" Maya nearly spat. "To be honest, I'm surprised he's bullying Jaune, I stereotyped him to be a Faunus hater."

"Well considering he was just pulling on the ears of a rabbit Faunus, you're not wrong." Yang piped up. Maya went ridged, she turned on Yang with a thunderous expression that made everyone looking flinch.

"Brown hair, relatively short?" Maya asked Yang, who nodded. Maya gritted her teeth. "Velvet…" She confirmed. Maya's tail was swishing again, just at the right angle to smack Alden in the face, Alden spluttered as he got a face full of fur.

"M-M- pffft, Maya, can you- pwa, get your tail out of my face please?" Maya pulled her tail from Alden's face and smiled sheepishly at him.

"Sorry about that," Maya then turned back to the others "If you see him bullying her gain, can you message me? I've got a few pieces of my mind to give him." They nodded. Maya smiled, "Thanks." She said before sitting next to Alden and they all began to eat…

"I mean, how useful can red sap be anyway?" Nite questioned as they walked into one of the training rooms, discussing the announced field trip to forever fall.

"Enough to warrant getting two field trips worth," Aegan replied.

"Yes, but its _sap._" Nite retorted "The _single_ most useless substance in the world."

Alden pulled out his scroll and tapped on it a few times before reading aloud. "Sap is a sticky and often slimy substance that performs similar healing functions for trees that blood does for animals. Sap can be harvested, and depending on what tree it is taken from it can be used to make several things which include but are not limited to: plastics, rubber, medical salves, construction materials, emergency casts, and plasters when out in the wild as well as some natural adhesives." He looked up at Nite "You need to look up useless in a dictionary."

Nite rolled her eyes, "Shut up," she said.

Nite and Aegan entered "the ring" A large open area in the centre of the training room for students to organise their own fights, whilst remaining large enough to avoid any accidents involving any bystanders.

They drew their weapons: Nite's sword split along its segments, getting several times longer and coiling near her feet. Aegan locked both the blades by his waist together and they too extended out so it looked like he was wielding a double sided sword.

They immediately charged each other, Nite swung first, like a whip the blade arced over her head before snatching back just before it hit the ground where Aegan used to be making a "Phwalack!" sound as it sparked along the ground. Aegan snapped out with his sword, catching the whip between its segments and pulling, trying to get Nite off balance.

He was relatively successful, Nite was pulled forward but pulled herself into a roll, whilst pulling up on the whip causing it to flick up and catch Aegan on his ankle. She pulled and Aegan fell forwards, his Aura flickering and dropping slightly.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Alden quietly asked Maya.

"Hard to tell, Nite's weapon is very unusual so it will be very hard to counter when first going up against it, that being said an obvious weakness in that for is if Aegan can get close, it's useless. That's if Aegan realises this of course."

Aegan jumped back to his feet and separated his weapon, he threw one half at Nite- the chains rattling as it unraveled from his wrist. Nite did not expect that Aegan's weapons could be thrown, so she was unable to fully dodge in time. The blade scraped across her shoulder as her aura flickered, bringing it just below Aegan's.

Nite flipped back and swung her sword in a wide arc, as it was in motion the blade coated itself in fire. When Nite whipped her hand back the fire seemed to _detach_, it shot forward in a curved arc towards Aegan. Aegan sprinted forward before sliding to his knees, skidding under the fiery wave. He let go of his other weapon and jumped whilst spinning. The blades pulled to the end of the chain and span with him.

Nite juts simply jumped over the top and arced her whip down causing it to scrape across Aegan's back, taking a significant dent off his aura. Aegan landed and threw one of his blades again, forcing Nite to dodge and swapped the other to its pistol form, firing a few shots where she ended up. Nite's aura flickered three times.

Maya and Alden were constantly looking from their scrolls- showing their aura levels, to the fight in front of them. Nite was winning, but only just.

Aegan locked his weapons back together, Nite's whip folded back into its standard sword form. They dashed back towards each other, moving so fast their attacks looked like blurs. Alden was struggling to catch up. Occasionally they would see a flicker of aura as one of the pair would successfully land a hit.

Nite went tumbling to the floor, tripping herself up on Aegan's leg. He tried to monopolise on her mistake and jumped, bring his weapon above his head to come crashing down on her. Just before he hit, Aegan was stopped in mid-air a shockwave radiated from between the two and he was thrown back out of the ring. Aegan skidded across the ground and quickly rushed back to his feet.

Nite wobbled back to a standing position. Surrounding here was a bright blue shield, slowly turning yellow as everyone spectating the fight watched on in awe. It flickered and faded, leaving Nite standing victorious.

"What… was that!?" Aegan wheezed out as he stumbled back towards them.

"Umm…" Nite muttered, feeling uncomfortable at the attention. "That was one of the forms of my semblance."

"_One_ of the forms, as in you have more than one semblance?" Alden asked

Nite shook her head," No, I don't have multiple semblances, Just one which does various things. It's like… the exact opposite of a Grimm. You know they are drawn to negative emotions? Well, I can _feel_ the emotions of those around me and then… _materialise_ them in a way… like that shield, the energy changes colour depending on the overriding emotions present. Green for happiness, blue for anticipation, yellow for awe, pink for love, brown for concern, black for terror etcetera."

"Wow, that's awesome." Maya

"Yeah…" Nite said, a bit distant, before looking back at Maya.

"As I said, I can feel people's emotions and where they originate, so fair warning Maya… Your invisibility doesn't work on me." She said grinning slightly cockily at her.

"I take the whole awesome thing back, your semblance is horrible," Maya said with a suddenly harsh expression. The members of MANA laughed at Maya's misfortune.

Alden fished his scroll from his pocket and checked their timetable.

"Well, we need to get changed. Oobleck in ten minutes."

A collective groan rang out throughout the room as both MANA and several spectators who were in their class sounded their displeasure.

They parted ways and headed off for the changing rooms, dreading for the classes to come.


	7. Chapter 6: Those who are left behind

Chapter 6: Those who are left behind

MANA's first week at Beacon was relatively uneventful, they got up, they ate, they went to classes, ate again, before going to bed. They had good friends, they spent many an hour getting to know each other. Even the harrowing nightmare barely came to his consciousness anymore. Everything seemed almost, peaceful…

It wouldn't last for long.

A few lessons during their week saw the team split up, not every team had every lesson together. So, on this particular day, Alden and Maya found themselves stuck in professor Port's class whilst Aegan and Nite had the period off.

"So! Can anyone tell me what's the best method for dealing with large groups of Grimm?" Ports cheerful voice boomed throughout the lecture room.

Alden leaned over to Maya who was sitting next to him. "Start a forest fire?" He whispered, referring to their uncomfortably close call during their initiation. Maya sniggered slightly and held her hand over her mouth.

Unfortunately, this was noticed by the professor: "Yes Alden? If you know, please share with the class."

"Umm… get reinforcements?" Alden joked.

Professor Port gave out a haughty laugh, "Well… you're not wrong… but most of the time it is not practical nor available."

Alden smiled but answered properly, "Try and use the enviroment to funnel them, get them into a spot where they cannot use their numbers."

"Exactly!" Port said. "Many a Huntsman have fallen due to being swarmed, obviously not myself… I was far too good of a huntsman to be caught off guard like that! Which reminds me of a tale when I was young…"

Alden zoned out at that point. The man's lectures were interesting, but the moment he began telling stories, Alden stopped listening, it was just showing off rather than any decent learning material.

Port droned on…

And on…

And on…

It was all about how "He was surrounded by the beasts!" but "with his superior knowledge and abilities, he caused a small avalanche and jumped off a cliff to vanquish his quarry!"

Yeah… Alden felt like he had better things to do with his time. When finally Port dismissed them he let out a sigh of relief. Maya stood on the tips of her toes and stretched her arms over her head, Alden could hear her fingers click.

They exited the classroom after letting the stream of other students go first. When they left Maya pulled out her scroll and clicked on their team group. Alden peered over her shoulder, Aegan's and Nite's faces were below theirs. Next to Maya and Alden in green letters was the word "free." Next to Aegan and Nite in yellow writing was "in lesson- double period."

"Well, we've got a few hours to kill, what do you want to do?" Maya asked

Alden scratched the back of his head in thought, "I'm hungry- Do you want to grab a coffee?"

Maya looked at him weirdly, "You're hungry, so you want to _drink_ coffee?"

"Not just coffee, there a place in town my family always goes for lunch when we come up."

"Ah, ok…" Maya said she thought for a second "sure, why not?"

They took a right out of the classroom and navigated the crowded corridors find one of the side exits of the building. Pushing the door open they stepped out into the fresh air.

The grounds were dotted with students milling about. They could see a couple of Bullheads flying overhead, transporting personnel to and from Beacon. In the distance, an airship was conducting its final approach to the landing Jetty. They walked towards it, occasionally having to push through the crowds here and there. When they arrived at the Jetty they stood and watched the airship slowly turnabout.

"Hey guys! Where are you off to?" A chirpy voice sounded from behind them. They turned to see Ruby smiling at them, with the rest of her team not far behind.

"Coffee. How about you?" Alden said, completely oblivious to the slightly raised eyebrow of Yang.

"We're going to restock on dust, for the trip tomorrow," Ruby replied.

"We were going to do that," Maya said "But Aegan and Nite are caught in a double period, so we're going to have to go this afternoon."

By this point, the airship had slowed to a halt, the door opened and a few people trickled out as the swarm of students piled on in.

"Has anyone ever been to forever fall?" Weiss asked as the airship departed. Everyone shook their heads.

"Though if the postcards are anything to go by, it's a beautiful place," Yang said.

"Which is full of Grimm" Blake replied.

"Ever the optimist that one," Yang whispered in Alden's ear. Alden grinned, the bow on Blake's head twitched and she rolled her eyes, but no one took any notice.

Idle chit chat followed for a few minutes- interrupted by Ruby patting down her clothes frantically.

"What have you lost now?" Yang asked like it was standard procedure. Alden had known them since he and Yang where three years old and Ruby was one, so long enough to know that in fact, this _was_ standard for Ruby.

"My shopping list!" Ruby panicked, "I checked it was there before we left and…"

"You dropped it on the jetty." Alden said reaching into his pocket and producing a small folded piece of paper, "I was seeing how long it would take before you noticed." Ruby just scowled at him as he handed it over.

"I hate you." She said.

"Love you too Rubes"

The airship descended upon the landing strip, the ramp deployed and everyone aboard disembarked. The airport at this time of day was bustling, airships were coming and going every minute. Hundreds of people were walking about, entering and exiting airships as they headed off for various destinations.

They waved goodbye to the members of team RWBY as they were headed in a different direction and they exited the airport and into the streets of Vale itself.

The sun was high in the sky, and since it was summer- it was completely unrelenting. Thankfully the helpful citizens of Vale had erected cloth shades along the pavement so everyone could walk around only getting slightly singed, rather than roasted all the way through. They could see the first decorations being prepared for the Vytal festival: bunting being stacked, and shipments of balloons being piled as well as tons upon tons of other stuff Alden couldn't recognise in the large piles dotted around the city ready to be distributed- Vale was sparing no expense.

"I'm not sure I like how quickly the tournament is coming up," Maya said.

"It's seven months away," Alden replied.

"Yep and before you know it, it will be two weeks. Hopefully we will be ready for it."

They dodged around a few crowds and families walking the street, crossing through the square where Maya had taken them before, over a small bridge and into the first few streets of the commercial district.

"You thinking of signing us up?" Alden asked, "To the Vytal?"

Maya nodded "As long as everyone wants to compete, I'm not going to force someone to."

"I'm up for it, I'm sure the others are too. I've got a feeling we make a great team."

"There's no question in that," Maya said "But some people simply don't like competition."

Alden suddenly stopped and grabbed Maya's arm, yanking her back slightly. The sudden momentum change caused her hand to move to the handle of her sword and look around, for any sign of danger.

"What is it?" she asked worryingly trying to spot whatever Alden had. He just turned and looked at her very seriously.

"Maya…" he said very slowly, before a giant grin took over his features as he couldn't keep up the act and began to chuckle softly, "We've gone too far, we need to go down there." He pointed to a street behind them.

Maya's jaw twitched and he fingers flexed before clenching into fists. Alden looked down.

"Please don't hit me?" it came out more of a question, than the statement it was intended as, he took a step back to give him a better chance of intercepting any swing she might send his way.

Maya just looked at him exasperated, "Why would you do that!?" she sighed, "I thought someone was getting mugged or something!" Alden burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, you looked so concerned and I couldn't H-help i-it!" he managed to stagger out while trying to get his breathing under control. Maya rolled her eyes and walked off as Alden was keeled over.

When Alden wasn't fighting off asphyxiation he looked up to see Maya wasn't in front of him. He looked over his shoulder, he could see the leather jacket and the tip of her tail disappear around the corner. Just as he was about to follow his eyes landed on a group of people standing by the corner, similar to them in age. They were talking and laughing between themselves and nothing seemed particularly out of order. That was until all their gazes seemed to track Maya when she passed them, as she got further away they all pushed themselves off the wall and began to head down the same street.

Alden jogged forwards and began following them, he looked at his scroll and clicked on Maya's picture, a map of their local area appeared on the screen and a small flashing red dot leading away from him but on the same road. The group he was following were deathly quiet, and they were gaining.

Alden began to mentally slap himself, why would they be following her? People go places in a city, he was essentially stalking _them_, not the other way round. He looked down to put his scroll back into his pocket. However, when he looked up the group was gone. Alden looked around, nope they defiantly vanished.

He passed a market stall, but backtracked as he saw a group of individuals blocking the entrance to an alleyway. He leaned up against the market stall and tried to peer through the various heads. Maya was staring back at him. The "leader" of the group seemed to be threatening Maya. Once she was sure they had eye contact she flicked her eyes up, towards the roof. Alden nodded and blinked up, disappearing in a flash and leaving numerous confused bystanders.

Alden flashed in on the roof beside the alleyway. He looked down: there were roughly seven people down there excluding Maya, they were outnumbered three to one, he felt a smirk form on his face, thugs like this feel safety in numbers, if they outnumber whoever they are threatening then they feel they always have the upper hand. But when it's a pair of Beacon students that was a very grave assumption to make. Alden knew he could just jump, grab Maya and they would both vanish and be long gone before they had any idea what happened. But they were threatening his friend, Alden was not necessarily violent- but they just ordered a large dish of pain.

"I'm sorry can you repeat that? I wasn't listening…" Maya said as she returned her attention back to the thugs.

"You little shit… You know we have just the right tricks to make freaks like you shriek in pain." The leader threatened.

_Faunus haters_, Alden thought, _the best and brightest of mankind, right here._

"Ohhhh… you were trying to be threatening? I've got some advice for you hotshot- get your message right next time, because you are failing _miserably_"

The leader growled and went to punch Maya, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him off balance before twisting it and pushing it behind his back whilst knocking his legs from under him with her foot. He collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. The other six advanced- only slightly unnerved by how quickly their leader was put into the dirt.

Alden took this as his cue and jumped, deliberately landing on two of them, he channeled most of the energy into his right leg and he felt the ribs snap under his feet as he tore through their weak and untrained aura. The unfortunate recipient yelled out in pain, which caused quite a few heads to turn in their direction, in a split second glance Alden could see two policemen running towards them.

The remaining four pulled out knives to try and get them to back down, but all it did was give Alden and Maya permission to pull out theirs. Alden almost laughed when he saw one of the thugs go cross eyes- staring down at the tip of tempest's blade, just touching the very tip of his nose, with a click Alden was pointing the barrel of his other gauntlet at another thug. Maya had disarmed her two with her sword which, as it turned out could be folded into a small piece of metal stored under her jacket. Which was convenient as Alden had staved off all this time from asking her if she had forgotten it.

As the policemen arrived they saw the weapons used by hunters so thankfully didn't immediately try to arrest them.

"What happened here?" The first one asked.

"Faunus haters," Alden replied "They tried to assault my friend here."

The second one began speaking into a radio and it wasn't long before a police van arrived and four more policemen stepped out. Alden and Maya stuck around as the thugs were arrested, just to make sure they didn't get any ideas above their station. Once they were pushed into the back of the van the original policemen thanked them before heading off. Alden was only slightly unnerved by all the people staring at them, they did make quite the scene after all…

"Now," Alden began "Where were we?"

As it turned out they were literally a few buildings away from their destination. Alden led Maya into a small café looking building. The door was hooked to a small bell which dinged as it opened. The inside of the building had a white tiled floor, with the wall being clad in wooden planks halfway up the wall before being replaced with a white plaster. There were only half a dozen tables and luckily all but one were full.

As they approached the counter the back door opened and a friendly middle-aged women walked up to the counter.

"No family today lad?" She asked as she smiled at them.

"Nope, not today." Alden replied.

The woman turned to Maya and stepped to the side to allow a clear view of the menu behind her. "What takes your fancy?"

Maya peered at the menu and her eyes flickered over it.

"Umm… I'll have… A bagel and a black coffee please."

The lady smiled "I'll be right back" before heading out the back door.

Maya looked at Alden "Are you not having anything?"

"Of course I am."

"But… you didn't order." All he did was smile at her.

"Ta-da!" The woman said as she emerged from the back with their orders on a tray. Maya could see her stuff on one side, but on the other was another coffee cup as well as a paper bag with the unmistakable smell of bacon wafting from it.

Alden could see Maya eyeing up his side of the tray, "Are you psychic or something?" She asked. The woman followed her gaze towards Alden's order.

"Oh, this?" she smiled "Alden's being ordering roughly the same thing since he was a wee little thing."

Alden piped up "I even get a special button on their app thing which tells them I'm coming so I don't have to wait for it to cook." He smiled at the woman as he took the tray, "I am living the life." The woman laughed and Maya shook her head but smiled and followed him to the last remaining table.

Alden began unpacking their order as Maya was fiddling with her tail to make sure she wouldn't sit on it.

"As she said, Leda has known my family long before I was born, I think my parents save her from Grimm once… I believe that's how they were introduced anyway."

"Your parents are hunters?" Maya asked. Alden nodded

"The Cirqs have been huntsman and huntresses since long before the title became official," Alden said. "Although I was never forced to do the same, it just seems to run in the blood. What about you? Any of your family in the profession?"

Maya nearly burst out laughing mid-sip of her coffee. "No, no. Nearly the exact opposite." She grimaced, but Alden didn't push.

A gentle silence befell the two as they ate, Alden moaning in pleasure as he tucked into his bacon sandwich. Maya looked at him slightly disgusted.

"What?" Alden said with his mouth slightly full.

"You!" Maya said laughing at his expression. "That can't be healthy."

"Uh-uh, _this_ is the only known cure of vegetarianism." Alden said, proud of his comeback "Anyway we're in the school for the most active profession in the world- I can eat whatever I damn well please and burn it off within the next hour."

"Being vegetarian is not a disease." Maya accused

"If it's not a disease then it's defiantly a disorder, like lactose intolerance- if you can't have milk, you miss out on chocolate, if you don't eat meat, then you can't have bacon, and that makes life intolerable." Alden defended.

"… What?"

"Bacon is one of the meanings of life, you can't just ignore it!"

"Why are we arguing about bacon?" Maya asked

"Because it's an incredibly important topic which leads to a very serious question…" Alden leaned forward in his chair towards Maya, "Do you like bacon?"

"Yes."

Alden leaned back in his chair with an overdramatic sigh of relief "Oh, good. If you had said no then this friendship would have ended."

Maya laughed "you base your friends on food?"

"Is there a better way to judge someone's worthiness?"

"Hang on let me get my list." Maya retorted.

They fell silent for a few seconds as Maya took a bite from her bagel.

"When are the others getting out? We can't forget to stock up on dust." Alden asked.

Maya swallowed her mouthful, "In a few minutes. Once they're out I'll message them and tell them to meet us at the park down the road."

They quickly finished up and took their plates and mugs to the counter.

"You're the best Leda," Alden said as he handed her the tray. Maya pulled some money out of her pocket and began to hand it over the counter, just before Leda could take it Alden slapped her hand down.

"Hey!" Maya said whipping her hand back.

"You paid for dinner for the entire team, the least I can do is pay for lunch."

"I don't care," Maya said

"Well, I do," Alden replied.

They stared each other down, without breaking eye contact they both held out money to Leda across the counter. She just looked between them extremely confused.

"Umm…" Leda said.

Alden knew there was a very high probability that Maya wouldn't back down, but he had a pain.

"Thanks for lunch Leda," Alden said before dropping his money on the desk, he then reached out and grabbed Maya's wrist and focused on just outside the shop. When they vanished it caused everyone's heads to turn and stare at the place where they used to be.

"_Alden._" Leda hissed to herself "_I told you not to do that in my café!"_ knowing he was long gone by now she would wait until the next time he visited to have a go at him.

The next thing Alden saw was Maya's shocked expression as her surroundings changed. They were in the park, with several people staring at them because they appeared out of thin air. Even the money she was holding out was still caught in-between her fingers.

"Wha-you-," Maya stuttered before looking at him very accusingly as she pocketed the money "You cheated." She sulked.

"I did nothing of the sort."

They were distracted when both of their scrolls, when they pulled them open they could see a notification icon next to the team symbol. Alden pressed it and Alden could see a new message in the chat room.

**Aegan: Well that was boring. Where are you guys?**

**Alden: We're at the park.**

**Maya: You need to come down, we've got to restock on dust before the trip tomorrow.**

**Nite: Good idea, we're on our way. Give us 10 mins**

"Talking of which, what shop are we going to?" Alden asked.

"Umm… That one?" Maya replied pointing to a shop not far away titled "Lereckin's very dusty store" which had a model of a large dust crystal next to it.

As they were waiting they lent up against the side of the tree in the middle of the park.

"Do you think we will actually encounter any Grimm tomorrow?" Alden asked.

"I don't know, there are Grimm in forever fall. Either way, it's better to go prepared."

They made small talk for a few minutes before they saw a pair walking into the park. Maya waved them over and the two changed direction towards them.

They gave quick greetings to each other before heading towards the shop. For the very dusty store business seemed to be booming. From the looks of things, this was one of the few dusts shops that hadn't been robbed recently, so prices extraordinarily low in comparison to other shops.

MANA fanned out, looking for what they needed. Alden beelined straight for the fire dust, he was running very low. He opened the small bag at his back and pulled out a few empty magazines and slotted them into the machine. His gauntlets folded out and the fire chamber rotated to the bottom and two half full mags were ejected. Once the machine was done filling up what he had given it he also inserted the two extra ones in to refill them.

When they were finished he moved around the shop, stocking up on everything he had used, mostly fire and ice, but there were a few others. He walked up to the counter and paid for the dust and then joined Aegan by the door as Maya and Nite were finishing up.

"I don't get how you can stay awake during Oobleck's lessons." Aegan said, looking at Alden with something like a mix of disbelief and admiration.

"I just find his stuff interesting, I like the challenge."

"I would say you're alone in that opinion but Maya is just as into it as you are, you're a pair of nerds!"

Alden laughed "We're not nerds, you're just a bit dim that's all."

Aegan winced "Ow."

Maya was grinning as she and Nite walked up to them. "You know the saying… Light travels faster than sound because people can appear bright, but then they open their mouths."

Nite chuckled "Does anyone smell that? That burning?"

Aegan looked at them in mock disgust "I'm being bullied!"

"Well if you could come up with any intelligent replies, it wouldn't feel so bad!" Alden said.

They walked out the shop laughing. They were also not looking where they were going. Alden tripped over someone's feet. Whilst he quickly recovered, the person he tripped over hadn't and were tumbling over. Alden quickly grabbed their wrist to slow their fall before turning to their side and pushing them back onto their feet.

"I'm so sorry, Madam! I wasn't looking where I was going." Alden sheepishly said. Maya, also not paying attention walked straight into the back of him. Alden staggered forward but caused no more accidents. "Nor is anyone it seems…" He continued.

"Alden! Why did you sto- Mum?" Maya said as she walked up to Alden's side.

The woman's gaze snapped to Maya: "Maya! I did not expect to see you so soon!" She said. And pulled Maya into a hug. This meant Alden had a clear view of her back, just by the small of her back was a near identical tail to Maya's. Yep undeniably her mother all right.

"Are these your teammates you were telling me about?" Maya's mother asked.

"Yep this is Alden, Aegan and Nite" Maya said pointing out each of them in turn. "Guys, this is my mother."

"Call me Beth" She said smiling "It's good to meet you all." Everyone waved in greeting. Beth looked back at Maya "Do you want to drop by for a few minutes? Your dad would love to see you."

"You don't even have to ask, of course, I'll come." Maya replied. Beth then faced the others.

"If you would like to come to, feel free. There's free drinks and biscuits!"

"Well, if you put it that way!" Aegan said. Beth smiled and turned to move on.

"This way, come on." Maya said and they followed them deeper into the residential district. The afternoon sun was beginning its descent across the sky. Fewer people were crowding the streets so they found it easier to navigate their way through the twists and turns.

They soon found themselves on a street which just like any other: was full of houses, however, once they had crossed the road they were quickly ushered into one of the small gardens outside a house. Beth opened the door and gestured for them to follow her in.

"John! Look who I found!" Beth called down a small white corridor. They quickly took off their shoes by the door and followed her down the hallway. As they passed through Alden noticed a picture hanging by the kitchen door: It was a family photo, Standing at the back was a couple Alden recognized Beth standing on the left, though she definitely looked younger. There was also a man who had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, Alden assumed this was the father. Standing in front of them were two young boys, Alden could see small white tips of fur sticking from behind their backs. One of them was holding a baby close to his chest.

As they continued the hallway opened up into a large rectangular kitchen. It had wooden cupboards with granite worktops spanning around most of the room, in the centre was a large table and sitting at one of its sides was a man, unmistakably the one from the picture in the hallway. He was reading something off his scroll but looked up when everyone entered the room. Upon seeing Maya he smiled and stood. Maya walked over and hugged him.

"Hi dad." She said.

"Maya!" He said wrapping his arms around her. "How was your first week at Beacon?"

"Really good actually." She said stepping to the side to introduce them. "These are my teammates." She began naming them. John approached them and shook their hands in greeting. They were invited to sit at the table and the Alethas got to work. Soon drinks and a couple of plates of biscuits and various other treats were laid before them. As everyone tuck in a few questions were asked.

"So, how are the various teams made?" Beth asked.

"Chess pieces." Alden replied.

Beth and John looked at him like he just spoke in a different language.

"We had to fight our way through a Grimm infested forest, link up with as many other students as possible. Find a ruined temple, take a chess piece and take it back to where we started." Alden explained.

"Is that a joke?" John asked.

"No," Maya stepped in "We- well, Alden and I fought two packs of Beowolves, a pack of Ursai, avoided being skewered by a Nevermore, helped Nite and Aegan finish off a heard of Boarbatusks, and fight a swarm of Beowolves whilst our particular bit of forest was on fire." She elaborated.

"For initiation?" Beth asked.

"Yep, just initiation. I have no idea what they will have to throw at us later."

Beth shook her head and looked at John, "Our children will kill me from a heart attack one day." She said. John just chuckled.

"It's what we signed up for." He told her. They spent nearly an hour talking about what Beacon looked like, to the different teachers to the various studies they have done, even to their fellow students and friends like teams RWBY and JNPR.

Maya was interrupted midsentence when Beth's phone rang.

"Sorry everyone," She said but opened her scroll and held it to her ear. "Jack! How are you? Oh! Your coming round? When will that be? OK, yep, see you soon. Love you too." Beth hung up the phone before worryingly looking at Maya. "Your brothers are just down the street." She told her.

Maya demeanor completely changed from happy and laughing to very close to the stern seriousness when she is in a fight. She rubbed her eyes before turning to the rest of the team.

"Well, guys… You're about to get a crash course in my family. Well… There's no other way to put it… My brothers are part of the white fang."

The room became so silent you could hear a pin drop. Nite's face looked like the blood had completely drained out of it. Her breathing also sped up erratically. "n-n-n- the… white fang…" She looked like she was about to have a heart attack, or a stroke or faint. Maybe all three.

"Nite?" Aegan asked, "What's wrong?"

Nite was completely unresponsive.

Then they heard the door open.

Nite was gripping the edge of the table whilst squeezing her eyes shut, she was repeating "no, no, no, no, no" over and over again. This wasn't going very well.

Alden looked at Maya. "Can you stall them for a few seconds?" He asked.

Maya nodded and stood, she walked down the hallway to greet her siblings. "Hey, guys! How are…" Her voice trailed off as she disappeared around the corner.

Alden grabbed Nite and Aegan, they disappeared leaving behind a very shocked John and Beth, They materialized just below the front window as the door shut.

"Get Nite away from here and see if you can find out what's this Is all about. Maya and I will come as quickly as we can." Alden said, ready to teleport back into the house.

"Wait! Should I go in there, being a Faunus and all?" Aegan asked.

Alden shook his head, "You know Nite the best. If anyone can get her out of this state it's you. Besides, I'm a big boy now, I can take anti-human comments. It'll be fine." He then flashed and disappeared.

Alden was met with the very confused stares of John and Beth. "My semblance" he explained.

Just then Maya walked into the kitchen, followed by her brothers. One of them was only slightly taller than her and about as thin as a stick. The other was built like a tank, and taller than Alden. This one stopped and stared when he saw Alden.

"Is he a…?" He began.

"Yes Mike, he's a human." Maya interrupted.

"Why, have you brought, a Human into our house?" He asked very slowly, trying to be civil.

"Because he's my partner from Beacon." Maya replied.

"Mike" slowly approached Alden, trying to be intimidating, and if Alden wasn't a huntsman in training he would have succeeded. Out of respect for Maya Alden held back on any sass that was desperately trying to get out of his mouth. But his pride wouldn't allow him to take even a step back.

"You better watch your tongue Human." He hissed. "I haven't broken anything because you are in my parents' house."

Alden just raised a single eyebrow. "You know your sister, she wouldn't have even considered inviting me if there was even a scrap of those types of opinions in me." Alden noticed the other one hadn't moved and was looking at Maya for guidance.

Mike just took another step forward. "I don't like ho…"

"Okay, that's enough!" Maya instantly stepped in. Alden felt some amusement that even though Maya was clearly the youngest sibling this brute immediately closed his mouth. She looked over her shoulder at her parents "I'm sorry, we'll drop by another day." She said and dragged Alden down the hallway.

"It was nice meeting you Alden!" John and Beth called down the hallway.

"You too!" He replied before walking through the front door.

As soon as the door was shut Maya growled in frustration.

"Mike behaves like that to a stranger and then wonders why a lot of Human's don't like the Faunus.

"Don't worry," Alden said "I can take the words. Though thank you for the timely rescue."

Maya smiled tiredly, "Don't sweat it… Though where did Aegan and Nite go?" She asked.

Alden pulled out his scroll and clicked on Aegan's picture. "That way." He said pointing down the street. They took off at a run, following Aegan's signal. They turned right around a corner and in the distance they saw a small green space. When they arrived they could see Nite and Aegan sitting on a Bench on the other side. They too sat on the bench next to Nite and Alden looked at Aegan to see if he had any answers. Before he could say anything , however, Nite began to speak:

"L-Last year" She sniffed, Aegan held out a tissue, she smiled in thanks and blew her nose before continuing. "There was a big event going on in vacuo. Some kind of music festival or something." She was looking off in the distance, her eyes were distant and unfocused. "My family decided it would be fun to go, so did my friends and their families." Her gaze dropped to her joined hands in her lap. "There were over two thousand people, all in one space… During the festival we heard shouting, screaming and then there was a massive explosion, I only survived because I was at the very edge of the field it was held in, I was lucky that I didn't get up because the vans arrived and people wearing the masks of the white fang got out and started shooting anything that moved." Tears began falling down her face.

A grim look of recognition dominated the expressions of the rest of the team, "The Lanid festival massacre." Maya said. Nite just nodded.

"I was so scared, so I just laid there… I hoped that they wouldn't notice me." She then completely broke down, with sobs wracking through her body.

"I should have done something!" she cried. Maya got on her knees in front of Nite and pulled her into a hug. She said nothing but rubbed her back, Nite pushed her eyes into Maya's shoulder.

"If you had done something, then you would have been killed," Maya said, "You wouldn't be here now, and you wouldn't be around to do something about it." Nite nodded and began trying to control her breathing. Maya looked up to Alden and Aegan:

"Just so everyone knows, I take _no _part in the white fang. Trust me, I know my brothers technically count as terrorists, but they haven't done anything yet. I've been tracking what they're doing and trying to get them to see the white fang for what it is, I've made a lot of progress on Jack- the one that didn't threaten you." She pointed that last sentence at Alden. "But Mike… sometimes I feel that he has let his hatred consume him, Jack is just following him, but I'm scared Mike will try and get him to actually do the more extreme stuff."

She looked down for a second before meeting Alden's eyes, "If they do, I will be the first person kicking them in the dirt, you can count on that. I will _not_ let them hurt anyone. Yes, in general, the Faunus are being oppressed by humanity, but that is not the way to solve it."

Nite had calmed down to speak again: "My Semblance changed that day… I used to be able to create static copies of people and objects. But there was so much death and despair… I don't know why it changed. I lost everyone I knew- all my friends. All my family. When I told you that I moved from Vacuo and you were everyone I knew here? On initiation day? I was being very literal, you were _the only_ people I knew on an even remotely personal basis." She flopped back on the bench and looked up at the evening sky. "I'm sorry…" she said, "You deserve someone better than this for your teammate."

"Bollocks," Aegan retorted "We wouldn't change you for the world Nite, we've got your back." Alden rested his hand on her shoulder. Nite smiled.

"Thanks, guys," She said. Maya pulled her into another final hug.

"Come what may, we've got your back." She said, "We've got everyone's back."

"Yay, go team," Alden said. Everyone laughed.

"Well, that just killed the moment!" Nite said.

They sat for a few seconds in silence before Aegan let out a yawn. Maya stood.

"Yep, I agree. It's getting late and I can hear my bed calling me." She said. Everyone stood and they walked back to the airport.

**AN: Hey everyone, sorry to bother you all. This chapter took longer than usual because it was an attempt to make this chapter better than the average quality. I feel that the original chapters are a bit... lacking. I have plans to slowly over time update them. This story loses a lot of views in the first chapter, this could because it's not everyone's cup of tea (All fanfics which add a new team to the story get consistently fewer favs and follows than any other story.) I would like your opinions if you prefer the longer,(hopefully better) chapter over the more frequent ones. Any reviews telling me exactly what you think would be a godsend, even if it's just a private message any feedback would be hugely appreciated. (Even if you hate it, go ahead I won't take offense.)**

**Thanks for your time guys, and I will see you in chapter 7 where the glowy-eyed shadows make a grand return.**

**Until then, I hope you have enjoyed the story so far!**

**Etherway **


	8. Chapter 7: Forever Fallen

Chapter 7: Forever Fallen

The Forever Fall was certainly a spectacle to behold. The dense forest was always a crimson colour all year round, the most predominant sound was the crunching of leaves under their feet. The group was obediently following behind professor Goodwitch, eyes wide and taking in all the sights. Everywhere they went it wouldn't be even twenty feet before their view was obstructed by another tree. Alden had to stop as a hummingbird hovered in front of him for a few seconds, he could swear it looked him up and down, but then it buzzed off into the distance.

"Yes students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But, we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to ensure none of you die whilst doing so." She stopped suddenly and turned to face the students following her. They all stumbled to halt as they tried not to step on one another. They heard a clinking noise as Jaune accidently bumped into the back of Cardin whilst he was carrying a box and some jars. Cardin turned and glared at him, Jaune just looked apologetic and began to absentmindedly whistle.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stick by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four O'clock. Have fun!" Goodwitch dismissed them.

All the teams present on the trip fanned out in different directions. He and Yang shared a wave before she disappeared into the undergrowth.

"So, uh… This way?" Maya asked pointing North West, the only direction no other team had gone. She was met with a variety of nods and shrugs, so MANA headed off, further into the trees. After ten seconds of walking, they already couldn't see the clearing where they were supposed to head back. Alden spied a few small piles of pebbles and picked them up. Aegan looked at him confused. Alden dropped one of the pebbles at his feet, walked five paces forward and dropped another. As they got further away he had left a trail to follow so they couldn't get lost.

"Good idea." Maya complemented after she recognised what he was doing. They carried on walking for a few minutes until they entered a clearing. This one was situated on the edge of a cliff. From this point, they could see the whole of vale stretching out below them. Countless stacks of white smoke rose from the various chimneys of the houses and shops in the city. There were also tiny specks which were cargo transporters and ferries pulling into and out of port. They could even see shapes of Airships traveling to Beacon. Beacon itself was yet again living up to its name, it spire nearly touching the lowest of the clouds. In the distance, Alden could just about see Patch.

"Wow," Aegan said.

"That is one hell of a view." Maya agreed as she pulled out her scroll and snapped a picture.

"Hey Nite come here," Alden called from his position standing near the edge of the cliff. Nite walked up to his side. Alden pointed out over yonder, "See that over there? That's where I live."

"Ooh, I thought Patch would be further out." Nite said holding her palm flat over her eyes to try and block out the sun to get a clearer view.

"Nah, it's only a ten-minute ferry journey," Alden replied.

Aegan walked up to one of the many trees surrounding the clearing. He looked between his jar and the tree in front of him.

"Umm… Guys? How exactly are we supposed to get sap from these trees?" He asked, tapping at the bark with his finger.

"Don't you know how?" Alden asked, stepping away from his probable precarious position from the cliff edge.

"Oh yeah, of course, I do. I just thought I should ask everyone anyways." Aegan said, Alden could almost see the sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

Alden shook his head and huffed in amusement as he walked over to his friend. "If you're ever trying to get the sap from a tree, the trick is to cause as little damage to the tree as possible. Both because it's the generally decent thing to do because you're not after its wood, and, if you cause to much harm then you will kill the tree and you can't use it again."

As he was saying this, Alden's fingers were grasping at one of the ridges in the bark, once they had gained purchase he tugged and a small layer of bark came away with his fingers. One of his gauntlets deployed and the blade extended, he used the very tip of the blade to dig a very small hole into the interior of the tree, it was a soft tree so his blade sunk in fairly easily. He fidgeted the blade around inside the tree for a few seconds before a sticky red substance leaked out from beside the blade's tip.

The blade retracted and his gauntlet folded back into its bracelet form. He grabbed one of the jars, opened its lid and held it beneath the wound, watching the sap slowly pour into the jar.

"How did you learn to do that?" Nite asked.

"I live on a nearly uninhabited forest island, you can't exactly pop to a supermarket. As kids we were taught to cook, fish, hunt, build, you name it. Patch is a peaceful place but everyone has to know how to live without civilisation on their doorstep." Alden said turning his head to look at them. He suddenly felt something wet and sticky slip onto his hand. As he had turned to talk to the others his and had moved, and a string of sap had dribbled down the side of the jar. He pushed the sap back into the jar with his finger.

The rest of team MANA had walked over to the trees next to his.

"So you just pull a bit of bark off?" Maya asked.

"Yep, you pull a bit off… now use something sharp and gently push it into the gap you've just made… yes like that. Now wiggle it around until you see the sap coming from the edges… perfect now hold your jar up… There you go." Alden instructed, watching his friends trying to recreate what he was doing.

"This is going to take forever!" Aegan complained as his muscles began to hurt about five minutes after he had begun tapping the tree.

"Its sap… some types can be as sticky as glue, it doesn't exactly move with any haste." Alden said standing next to him. Aegan jumped, expecting Alden to be further away.

"Wha… how are you done already?" he asked.

"I'm not," Alden replied stepping aside to reveal that he had cut some of the most pliable twigs off the branches above him and he had tied his jar to the trunk of the tree, allowing the jar to continue gathering sap without Alden holding it. Alden quickly gathered more twigs and helped the others tie their jars up. When this was completed they sat with their legs dangling off the cliff, looking out into the distance. Since they weren't talking about anything of any particular importance Alden allowed his mind to wonder. As he was looking at his friends he realised how quickly their trust had developed. He already thought of them as long term friends, like they had been there for years… yet they had only met just over a week ago. At this early stage most teams were still working out their differences, but MANA's transition had been miraculously smooth.

"… past the time?" The voice of Nite pulled Alden from his thoughts.

"Well, how long will the jars take to fill?" Maya asked. Alden pushed back to make sure he didn't accidentally fall off the cliff. He crawled to his feet and moved to inspect the jars. The sap was slowly seeping in, but they were only about a quarter full.

"I'd say another hour at most." Alden said turning back to the others, "we've got plenty of time to kill."

"How about a few rounds of Sumo?" Aegan suggested. He was met with three remarks of agreement. Alden returned to his spot beside Maya and dropped his legs over the cliff and pulled out his scroll.

"Sumo" was a simple game that Maya had found a few days ago, it involved player controlled circles on the screen which existed within an arena. The aim of the game was simple: knock everyone else out of the arena by ramming into their characters with your own.

They all fired up the game and Maya swiftly created a lobby. Once everyone had joined the game began, the clearing settled into silence as all members of MANA grew quiet with concentration. As soon as the countdown finished the four circles on the screen became blurs, Alden's circle was bumped by Aegan's, which then collided into Nite's, She had pressed a button which boosted her circle forwards, forcing Alden to knock into Maya's which pushed her circle halfway off the edge, but she managed to recover.

The four circles rushed into the centre, colliding into one another and being forced back out, depending on the speed they rushed in dictated the sped they drifted out of the arena before they could react. Since Maya was the closest to the centre, she was the slowest and therefore her circle was considered just in the circle as Alden's drifted out leaving her the victor. They all let out cheers of joy and frustration, they loved it when the games were so close.

They decided to have another round, this time they noticed that Yang and Ruby had also joined the lobby, they too were probably waiting for their jars to fill. This game was even more chaotic: Aegan was knocked out instantly but a well-timed charge from Ruby. Even from here they could hear a high pitched, excited "Yeah! Eat that!" from the distance. In the chaos, Alden managed to accidentally knock Nite out of the ring. She groaned in irritation but still adamantly watched her scroll to see who would emerge the victor.

Yang and Ruby lined up on the other half of the ring and stayed there, realising what they were doing, Alden formed up on Maya's flank on the other side.

"Yang will try and rush you, so we both need to boost her, which should just leave Ruby," Alden instructed. Maya nodded and they waited. They knew Yang would eventually lose her patience. They weren't wrong, just a few seconds later Yang's circle charged and Maya and Alden responded in kind. Because there were two circles boosting back at her Yang's character was effectively catapulted off the screen. They then boxed Ruby into a corner and together they pushed Ruby out, Maya accidentally followed her, leaving Alden the winner.

They cheered in victory and started typing in the game's chat box.

**Alden: Good game guys.**

**Yang: Were you that lucky, or am I just becoming predictable?**

**Maya: Predictable. Alden told me exactly what you were going to do**

**Ruby: I think these circles just hate us**

**Alden: nope, its just mine is superior, because I… I have a Cirqle.**

Maya immediately facepalmed, "Why did you do that, you're just going to start Yang off…"

**Yang: I'm sorry? I didn't quite get the **_**angle**_** on that one.**

**Alden: You'll get your pun knowledge into **_**shape**_** soon.**

**Nite: Please stop…**

**Yang: We've got to go, jars are filled, see you guys in a bit!**

She and Ruby abruptly left the game without saying anything further. Assuming they were fine, Alden stood up to go check on the jars again. He turned around before stopping.

"Umm… Guys?" he said with a mixture of concern… and a little panic.

"What is it?" Maya asked as she and the others turned to look at him. Alden looked like a deer caught in the headlights, staring off at the edge of the clearing.

"Can you not see it?" He said nervously before taking a step back as his head tracked the entire circumference of the clearing, "Or any of them for that matter?" His gauntlets deployed, the ice chambers locked in and his blades extended, giving of small clouds of white dust from the blades.

"What are you on about?" Aegan asked, "I don't see anything."

Nite was looking very concerned in Alden's direction. She leaned over to Maya "He's seen something…" she held her hand out and a small orb of her semblance appeared it was grey, going on black "He's scared."

"You don't see the people made of smoke?" Alden's voice nearly cracked "Because they are defiantly walking towards us…"

The other members of team Mana deployed their weapons, scanning the edge of the clearing. "Where?" Maya asked.

"There." Alden said pointing to their left, "And there, and there, and there, there, there, over there and there." He finished with his finger pointing to the right. His eyes squinted," There are only two people… but they're copied. There eyes are glowing… it's really weird."

"Are the jars filled?" Maya asked, Aegan looked over at the trees.

"Yep, they're done." He confirmed.

"Right, let's grab them and go. I have a bad feeling about this." They all jogged over to the trees. They untied their jars and screwed the lids on.

"Alden where are…" Maya began to ask as she turned to face Alden's tree. He wasn't there "Alden?" She asked looking over the rest of the clearing. "Where Alden?" She asked Aegan and Nite.

"He was there just a second ago," Aegan said, pointing to Alden's tree. The jar hadn't been touched. Maya thought for a second.

"Nite you said you could sense the locations of people's emotions, can you tell where he is?"

"On it." Nite replied before closing her eyes. A look of concern grew ever deeper across her features. "I… don't understand… unless he knows a way to cloak his emotions… Alden isn't here…"

"Where is he then?" Maya asked, scanning the edge of the clearing once again.

"Anywhere? Nowhere? Maya, he has completely vanished off the face of Remnant for all I know… I've never seen that happen before."

"What do you mean?" Aegan asked

Nite began taking a few stuttered breaths. "Alden… he's gone…"

"What do you mean I'm gone? Guys, I'm standing right here." Alden said waving his hand in front of Maya's face. She seemed to either be ignoring him or she couldn't see him.

"Your friends can't hear you." A voice said from behind him, he whirled around to come face to face with what Alden assumed to be one of the shadows. However, they were not cloaked in smoke, but their eyes definitely were glowing.

Tempest's blades shot back in and Alden leveled one of his arms at the newcomer, his finger itching on the trigger.

"Why such a hostile response?" The person said. Alden was able to take a closer look, he seemed to be between roughly two to five years older than him.

"What have you done?" Alden growled.

"Well, at least he's still got teeth." Another voice said behind him. Alden's other arm lifted and pointed at the new voice, he spared a glance to his left. This one Alden recognized. She looked very similar to the girl in the alley a few days ago but grown up. Though Alden didn't think it was her, that was too big of a coincidence. She too had the glowing eyes, both of them were examining Alden with predatory stares.

"What is this? Where am I?"

"You are nearly here… but not quite." The girl behind him said.

"Then why am I here?" Alden pressed.

"We need to have a nice chat, you and us." The guy in front said. "We haven't seen you in sooooo long."

"Quite, considering I have no recollection of us ever meeting before." Alden retorted.

"That's where you're wrong, we have met just… not quite." The girl said.

"Where are our manners? We should introduce ourselves. My name is Mansell, and this here is our sister Eryel."

"_Our_ sister?" Alden pointed out, "I don't remember having any secret family members."

Mansell rested his face into one of his palms.

"Patience Mansell, he will come round soon enough."

"Have I missed something?" Alden asked, "Your lips are moving, but it seems like your talking in a different language."

Eryel sighed. "We have come to make you an offer. We desire that you join us."

Alden felt his hackles rise. "Oh sure, why not? I must congratulate you on your marketing strategy: "Hey stranger, we have just met, but let's abduct you, make it so your friends can't see you, and then call you brother so you will come with us! Genius!" Oh, and let me guess… you have cookies don't you?"

Mansell shook his head "I admit brother, in the many times we have had this conversation, Sass was never a tactic you have employed. Look we just want to be reunited again… Us, you and our other sister, she is being… stubborn this time, but she will come around, just you see. All we ask is that you come with us, and hear us out."

"I don't need to go anywhere, I'm happy where I am thank you very much. So please, kindly return me to them." Alden said, malice becoming more evident as the sentence went on.

Eryel raised an eyebrow, "Too connected to friends then? That can be corrected…" She then clicked her fingers.

A growl could be heard throughout the forest. Several birds fled for the skies. Cracking sounds came from all around them. In several places throughout the clearing the ground split open, revealing dark pools which looked like oil, only somehow darker.

That shouts of surprise coming from team MANA suggested that these were in the real world, not… wherever he was.

"Alden!" Maya called for probably the fifteenth time. Following the sudden and very unexpected disappearance of her partner, she instructed Nite and Aegan to the edge of the clearing and to check the surrounding trees to make sure he wasn't pulling a very clever prank. She knew Nite felt that Alden was scared just seconds before he vanished, but Alden could be a trickster at a time. She really, _really _hoped it was just a prank. He had been gone for several minutes now and Maya was starting to feel the beginnings of panic well up within her chest, she quickly pushed it down, she was responsible for her team, that meant making sure the others were fine and finding Alden wherever he was. But however hard she tried she couldn't shake the persistently nagging feeling that something was very, _very_ wrong _indeed._

Maya had stayed in the clearing to make sure she could remain in eye contact with the others. When Aegan and Nite both signaled that they hadn't found anything she growled in frustration her tail began to twitch back and forth in irritation, she told the others to return back to the clearing. She was now minutes away from calling for help from Professor Goodwitch.

"Where could he be?" Nite said as she broke out from the tree line and back into the clearing. "I could feel him one second… and then he vanished. He must be a very long way away. How far can his semblance take him?"

"Not far" Maya replied, "The longest I've ever seen him use it was when we fell down that canyon."

"Well, three possible conclusions: One: His semblance can take him far enough to get out of Forever Fall. Two: He can mask his emotions. Or three: He has literally vanished off the face of Remnant."

Aegan then returned, cursing as his sleeve was caught in a twig, he untangled himself and approached the others. "No sign of him anywhere."

"That's it," Maya said, "We're going to get professor Goodwitch."

Just before they could leave a loud roar rang throughout the trees, causing the birds to take off in calls of alarm. Aegan's ears twitched, and Maya's tail raised flat against her back.

"What was that?" Nite asked, looking towards Aegan.

"I would say an Ursa, not far from here," Aegan replied.

"Right, we need to get mov…" Maya began, but was cut short as the ground beneath her split. She jumped to the side as the crack widened, it filled with an oozing black liquid. Maya quickly scanned the rest of the clearing and noticed that at least six other cracks had opened up.

"This can't be good." Nite said, taking a step away from the oozing crater.

They all jumped when a black and white claw shot out from the murkiness. It was soon joined by another. Slowly the creature pulled itself out of the puddle, revealing a snarling Beowolf.

"How did that get here?" Aegan asked. Maya quickly surveyed the clearing again, the other pools had also produced Beowolves of their own and were spewing forth even more.

The air filled with clacks and rattles as all their weapons deployed and clicked together. Maya quickly noticed that Nite's sword hadn't extended into its whip form, instead, several serrated "teeth" were protruding from the blade's edge.

The Grimm circled them, growling and drooling in anticipation. One, as it seems couldn't hold back any longer and charged the group, specifically towards Nite. She just grinned and her attacker and pulled a trigger just under the handguard.

Her sword whirred to life, the teeth spun around the edge of the blade and the entire weapon seemed to snarl as she swung it. The Beowolf jumped and opened its mouth. The blade struck the creature right in between its eyes, the teeth of the blade tore into its flesh, the rotating action of the blade pulled it inside the Beowolf, literally tearing the beast in half as it exploded into dark red and black mist.

The other Grimm being… Grimm, were completely unnerved by the grisly demise of the first attacker and they too began to charge, each seeming to compete against each other to see who could land a hit first.

Maya waited until the Grimm had gotten close enough before sprinting forward herself. She rammed her glaive down on the first Beowolf, pinning it to the ground, she then jumped- pole vaulting over another Grimm before yanking her glaive up in midair. The glaive exited the first Grimm by ripping out of its side, causing it to evaporate into a cloud of black smoke. She sailed over the second one before pulling her glaive above her head and thrusting down on a third, impaling it. She jumped forwards so she was behind the trapped Grimm but in front of all the others. She gripped the bottom of the handle sticking up in the air and pushed one of her knees into the ground. She pulled the handle down, over the top of her shoulder to use it as a fulcrum and swung the Grimm over the top like a catapult. As it was above her head the blade slipped out from within the Grimm which sent it flying forwards- smashing into three other Grimm racing towards them. As it collided it sent up a cloud of dust and dirt, but when it cleared all four of the Grimm had disappeared.

That was not the last of them as more were climbing out of the dark pools. Their beady red eyes staring at them, as their lips curled back to reveal their fangs.

"How many are there going to be?" Aegan asked as he stabbed down on the newly forming Grimm that was pulling itself out of the puddle next to them. "We could get overwhelmed too easily." His weapons folded back to their gun form and he withered another charging Grimm down after several shots.

When no more charged the remains of MANA stood confused, there Grimm were… waiting. There were still more coming out of the pools, so many, in fact, they were outnumbered by roughly ten to one, all them snarling and pawing at the ground.

"We're going to need back up!" Nite said, worryingly staring at the Mass of Grimm staring them down.

"Cover me in case they come at us," Maya said and pulled her scroll out, and pressed on the contacts panel. Trying to avoid any problems with rapidly remembering the alphabet she scrolled straight to the bottom because one person was always going to be there. She clicked on the portrait just as the Grimm began their charge…

Yang, Blake, Nora, Ren, and Goodwitch were sprinting through the forest. Panting breath was the only noise that could be heard above the crunching of leaves beneath their feet. They were dodging branches, roots, and even the tree trunks themselves as this part of the forest was incredibly dense. Just up ahead they could see their hastily abandoned jars, which meant they were close.

They tore into the clearing which they had set up in. They stopped for a second to catch their breath before noticing that Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Cardin In the clearing. Jaune and Cardin looked a little beaten up, but nothing serious.

Pyrrha looked up when they arrived and smiled. "It's all right now, Jaune managed to kill it."

"Jaune?" Ren said looking to his friend but smiled "Nice work." Jaune sheepishly grinned back.

"Well, I'm glad none of you are seriously hurt." Glynda said, "You were right to call me anyway."

They collected their jars and began to walk back to the clearing with Goodwitch in front, her eyes scanning through the forest.

"So you fought a giant Ursa huh?" Yang asked Ruby, ruffling her hair slightly. Ruby ducked her head to try and dodge Yang's hand.

"Nah, Jaune did it all." She said "You should have seen him though! He beheaded the thing!" Yang rose an eyebrow in Sinicism.

They walked on for a few minutes and soon they were near the rendezvous point. Unexpectedly, however, Yang's scroll began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket and slid it open. She was greeted with the smiling portrait of Maya. Confused she pressed the answer button.

"Maya? You alright?" Yang asked. She was met with the sound of two gunshots, both through the phone and in real life as they echoed through the forest. She then heard Maya reply but they found it difficult to hear over the sounds of moving and fighting. Even professor Goodwitch came to stand near Yang to listen after she heard the gunshots.

"Ald… gone… sourrou… weird pool things… went North Wes… rendav… we need hel…" Mayas voice cut off abruptly after another loud roar.

Professor Goodwitch turned to Jaune and Cardin. "You two! Get back to the rendezvous and alert them to leave for Beacon immediately." Jaune began to protest.

"But!..."

"_Now _Jaune," He huffed in acceptance and he and Cardin ran into the tree line.

"The rest of you, we will go save your friends." She said and they sprinted off to the sounds of chaos in the distance.

"Call them off!" Alden growled as he watched his friends battle the tide of Grimm.

"No," Eryel said, smiling as she watched the desperate fight for survival unfold. "You are too distracted by those you hold dear…We need to remove those distractions."

"I, Said, Call, Them, Off!" Alden growled again, this time the blades of Tempest deployed, igniting the moment they touched the air. He had already tried using his semblance to leave this place and reenter the real world, but just ended up a few feet away with Mansell laughing at him.

"Have patience… This will be done soon and you can come with us." Mansell said grinning at the desperate look on Alden's face.

Alden blinked again, but reappeared with his right blade touching Mansell's neck though the blade had extinguished.

"Don't you get it?" Alden said, "Even if you do manage to kill them it won't make me follow you, so let me out of here, and maybe we can talk when you are not trying to kill my friends."

. Mansell pushed him away.

"You were always her favorite." He hissed, "You always produced the best results, completed the most objectives. Yet even as you resist her I know she will give you another chance."

"Who?" Alden asked, lowering his stance, "Who is her?"

"_Mansell!_" Eryel hissed.

Mansell's eyes widened. He stumbled back like he was hit by an invisible truck.

"I'm sorry!" he cried to seemingly nothing, he then looked like he was listening to something. "I'll reset him, I'll fix this… I promise." He then looked at Alden with a fiery glint in his eyes. "If you won't join us, then you will die."

Alden felt his body fill up with adrenaline at the threat. He had thought mindless Grimm to the death hundreds of times before, another properly trained human, possibly two, however? This was new.

A bright light formed by Mansell's hand and it solidified, leaving a gigantic luminous battle-axe. Alden looked to his left, Eryel was also approaching dual wielding swords which seemed entirely made of ice.

They both charged him. Alden waited until they were just in range before teleporting backwards. They swung their weapons, but got tangled in each other. Alden fired two shots each, four fireballs raced across the Alternate clearing, one passed through Aegan but it didn't affect him in any way. When they collided a large explosion rocked across the clearing leaving two very angry people, now untangled and looking like they were thinking what kind of chutney he would go well with.

"I forgot he could do that," Eryel said. They charged him again, but Alden new that that trick would not work a second time.

"How do you know me?" Alden said as he blocked a swing from Mansell and swung upwards, only to be blocked by Eryel. He teleported behind them and closer to the ground, he swung at their legs but they jumped and aimed their weapons down at him.

Alden rolled off to the side, taking a grazing blow from Eryel and backflipped onto his feet.

"It's a long story, which you now don't need to know," Eryel grumbled, sending a sideways look at Mansell. He just glared at Alden and charged again.

Mansell blindly swung his weapon which Alden easily ducked under, he then dashed forward and slashed once at his legs then upwards with the other blade. The dust in his clothing lit up and his momentum pushed him upwards. Alden rocket up into the air several feet as his mass was countered by the gravity dust. He spread his arms out and backwards, forcing him over backwards so he was facing the ground.

He pulled and held the trigger on his right gauntlet, several of the "plates" that made up his gauntlets shunted forwards and several beams of energy bounced of their reflected surfaces, the beam converged into a middle resulting in a large energy ball the size of Alden's fist. As it was building the gauntlet made a high pitched scream. He let go of the trigger and a shockwave shoved out of the barrel forcing the projectile forwards. It slammed into the ground resulting in a large mushroom cloud.

Mansell and Eryel had dive out of harm's way, but they had split up. Alden landed on his knees and quickly ejected the fire magazine as the shot had used an entire clip. Just as he slammed a new one into the gauntlet Eryel dashed through the smoke and her fist smashed into his stomach. He flew up into the air. Eryel jumped and slashed out with one of her swords which sent Alden crashing to the ground. The ground cracked underneath him and he groaned as he felt his Aura shimmer and crack- on the verge of shattering. He managed to open his eyes- his vision blurry, he felt the ground vibrate as Mansell charged him. He weakly lifted his arm and fired a few last defiant shots before the axe connected.

Alden was sent flying back, his aura shattering in flight. He was too weak to even make a noise other than the air being forced out of his lungs as he broke through a tree and collapsed on the ground. As he was losing consciousness he could see the form of Mansell slowly approaching him. He could swear that he heard someone calling his name, then it went black and then he succumbed to the dark…

Maya dodged under the swipe of a charging Ursai. She felt her scroll slip out of her hand, and as the creature turned to face her it roared and its foot crushed the device. She hoped Yang had got her message. Nite's chains word had ripped through another Beowolf before extending out into its whip form, she lashed out and it wrapped around the leg of another. She pulled and its serrated edges tore the limb from the creature.

Aegan was standing in a black fog- the leftovers of countless evaporate Grimm, he was panting and all of their Auras were shimmering. More and more Grimm were pouring out of the pools.

"When will this stop!?" Nite said cleaving another two Grimm in half and rolling underneath another slitting its belly.

'We can't hold them here, there's too many!" Aegan shouted over the howls and growls of the swarming Grimm.

"He's right, start pulling back!" Maya shouted. Very slowly they took a step back, and another, very careful to not let the Grimm push through. Suddenly one of the massive trees just in front of them cracked at its base. It looked like something invisible pulled it over and crushed at least twenty Grimm under its trunk and branches.

Ruby embedded her scythe into the ground and cocked her rifle, pulling the trigger along with Yang, Pyrrha and Nora they let out a hail of gunfire, explosions rocked the clearing and they charged in to help the battered team. Within seconds the application of fresh huntsman and huntresses caused the Grimm swarm to waver, and professor Goodwitch shoved a large amount of Beowolves off the edge of the cliff. Pyrrha was a whirlwind of destruction, backed up by Ren and Nora they managed to clear an entire side of the clearing whilst the members of team RWBY backed up MANA in pushing back the other half.

Very slowly they pushed the Grimm back past one of the pools and Ren stood by it to immediately kill whatever abomination decided to pull itself out. Another pool was covered by Yang, and so on. There were simply too many Grimm to push back quickly but they were making progress.

Something caught the edge of Maya's eyes, she spared a look to the side. She shook her head and blinked a few times thinking she could see things. But it looked like a person, but incredibly see-through, like they were a ghost. Her eyes were drawn to their wrists, blades were protruding from silver gauntlets, the blades were burning leaving faint orange streaks as they swung- Alden.

Yang shot past her and her fists collided with a Grimm pouncing on Maya.

"Careful." She said winking at her. She then stopped as she saw what Maya was staring at. "Is that Alden?" she asked.

"I think so..." Maya replied, "But who are they?" She was referring to the two other faint outlines of people, it seemed like Alden was fighting them, he flung himself into the air and his weapon unleashed a massive fireball which caused a massive explosion, big enough to crack the earth in the real world.

They were forced to turn their attention back as more Grimm charged them. Yang let off two fireballs, destroying two Grimm before they even reached them. A third impaled itself on the end of Maya's glaive which Yang caved its face in. Maya swept her Glaive in a circle which Yang jumped over like a skipping rope, the blade carved the legs off several Beowolves which collapsed and evaporated. They risked a glance at the other side to see if the others were OK. Satisfied that they were fined Maya turned back to the Grimm.

She was distracted by a gasp from Yang, Maya followed her gaze and watched on in horror as she saw Alden on the ground, his Aura flickering weekly before being knocked away like a golf ball by a massive tank of a man. His Aura shattered and he slammed through a tree, without any protection in a flash of light. He crumpled to the floor and she could see him try and look at them, his head turned back to the man approaching, his eyes closed and his head fell back to the floor.

Maya felt her blood turn cold, she could hear her heartbeat in her head, from the corner of her eyes she could see Yang starring too, her hair was glowing and her eyes turned a crimson red.

Elsewhere in the clearing, all was not well. The rest of team RWBY and MANA were slowly being overwhelmed, those that had entered fresh were now tired, and Aegan and Nite were exhausted. Aegan watched helplessly as an Ursai grabbed Nite in his jaw and swung her about, flinging her off like a ragdoll. She rolled across the ground and her Aura broke but she got back up again and limped to the back of the clearing where it was safer.

Aegan felt the energy build within him, he sighed as he knew what was coming. "Everyone shut your eyes!" he shouted across the clearing. He waited a few seconds before he felt it pulling. All the light in the forest was attracted to him, causing the forest to plunge into darkness, all except Aegan who was now gleaming like the sun, blinding all the Grimm who looked at him. Glynda covered her eyes to shield them from Aegan but swung her arm, and giant icicles fell from the sky, since all the students were staying still she could pull this off without accidently impaling the wrong person.

Countless Grimm collapsed and evaporated in shrieks of pain, everyone else ducked and covered their heads. When the glare faded and light returned to normal they looked on in shock to see that the Grimm that were left had turned see through and were looking around like they couldn't see them. Aegan tentatively tried to touch one and recoiled in shock when his hand passed through it.

When Maya opened her eyes again she saw that Alden did not appear to be see-through anymore, neither were the two people he seemed to be fighting. They two had covered their eyes to the light, but the big one began his journey to Alden's broken frame. Maya didn't have time to think about what just happened, her and Yang's attention was focused solely on these newcomers.

Yang fired a shot at the larger one who was moving towards Alden, he stopped in his tracks to allow the fireball to pass in front of him, this delay had left another time for Maya and Yang to reposition between him and Alden.

"How did you get in here?" Mansell asked. His eyes then had a very distant look about them. "Furla…" he growled, "Show yourself!" He shouted out into the clearing "Or are you going to let these children fight for you?"

Eryel shoulder barged him out of the way. "Let's get this over with." She growled, "No one can know we were here." He brought her hand up and Maya could see the moisture in the air solidify into giant ice spears. She flung her hand forward and the projectiles raced towards them.

Professor Goodwitch stormed in front of them and held out her wand, a gigantic purple circle appeared in the air, full of runic circles. The ice shattered against its surface leaving everyone behind it unharmed. She flicked her wand again and several purple projectiles launched themselves back, forcing the two unknown assailants to dodge backwards. The rest of the students opened fire, resulting in a wall of firepower. Mansell ad Eryel were forced to try and dodge, but their Auras shimmered as they took lots of hits. They were forced to retreat into the woods.

Mansell Growled, "I'm going to gut…"

"_Mansell_" Eryel hissed, "It's pointless if you're going to get yourself killed."

"But then he will know we're here, and who he is."

"And that's just something we'll have to deal with. Right now, we need to leave."

"Fine."

Eryel stepped out from behind her tree.

"Well it's been fun everyone, but we gotta' go. We'll be seeing you very soon, you can count on that." She gave a two finger salute before she and Mansell seemingly dissolved into the surrounding air. The pools shimmered and evaporated, along with all the Grimm that were left.

"Who were they?" Pyrrha asked, still looking down the sights of her rifle, waiting in case they reappeared.

"We don't know, I believe our answers may lie with this young man here," Glynda replied as she crouched down next to Alden, she rested her fingers on his neck and tilted her ear just outside of his mouth. "There's a pulse and he's breathing- barely." She said. The professor then pulled out her scroll and pressed a singular button before talking into it.

"We have a medical emergency in the Forever Fall forest," She said, "We need a Bullhead and a medical team _now._"

"Roger that Ma'am." A voice replied from the other side, "I've diverted one to your scroll's position, it will only be a few seconds." The call cut off.

The distant roar of the Bullhead could be heard already and it was getting louder, soon it was overhead and its engines moved to face downwards, it slowly dropped to the ground.

Yang got one hand under his back and another under his knees and lifted Alden up, he groaned in pain and opened his eyes.

His vision was blurry, he could only make out a large splodge of red and a large blackish-greyish form.

"Hang in there Alden" He could hear Maya say "We're getting you out of here." A massive spike of pain shot up his back when Yang climbed into the bullhead and he grimaced, "Sorry, sorry" she muttered and laid him on a medical bed in the hold. A medical team quickly got to work examining his wounds and stabilising his condition as everyone else quickly climbed aboard.

Alden felt his head roll to the side to see one of the medic help pull Nite into the hold- checking her over for any permanent injuries as her Arura had broken, the doors shut and the engines roared louder as the Bullhead took off and headed for Beacon. He felt his consciousness slipping away again and his eyes slowly began to close.


	9. Chapter 8: Aurora

**Just a heads up everyone: People have started to tell me they are really interested in the characters, so I am letting you know that if you click on my profile (the blue Etherway next to the picture) I have started to create character, event and place dossiers where I gather all the information from various chapters and stick it all in one place so you can hopefully understand everyone and everything better, currently only the members of MANA have something in it but you can see where I plan to expand it next.**

**Other than that, I believe from the top of my memory there is only one chapter left in volume one! (that may not be the case but it's late, so forgive me) Though Volume 2 will be longer than the official show so let's look forward to that!**

**I just noticed that I didn't get three chapters out this month by four minutes, sorry everyone, I struggled at the beginning of this month, but now my head is so full of ideas it's probably not healthy, so more is definitely to come!**

**I'll see you in the next chapter where we learn of a third shadow who may actually be here to help...**

**Until then!**

**Etherway**

Chapter 8: Aurora

Nearly a week later, Maya, Nite, and Aegan walked into Professor Peach's classroom. Due to the way the lessons were spaced out, they hadn't had a lesson with her since the trip to forever fall. Her room was similar to all the other professors at Beacon, the desks for the students were arranged in a semi-circle around the edge, with the professor's desk in the centre, but at the back.

Where Port's room was littered with pictures and diagrams of various forms of Grimm, and Oobleck's had several maps and pictures of historical events. Peach's room was full of various scientific diagrams.

At the very front, there was a very large periodic table, with a few of the more important and memorable elements circled in a red marker pen. Off to the side of that were several diagrams showing the construction of Atoms, to radiation waves.

Dominating the sides of the room were several large pictures and diagrams showing and describing the different types of dust as well as their various properties. In several corners of the room, different pieces of scientific apparatus were set up for various different experiments.

Yang looked over her shoulder and waved them over to sit next to her and the rest of the team. Maya groggily slid into the chair next to her. Whilst Aegan and Nite filed in next to Maya. Yang smiled and gently shoulder bumped Maya in greeting. Maya returned the smile but it came out like more of a grimace.

Yang's eyebrows dropped in concern. None of team MANA had gotten much sleep in the recent days, dark bags hung low in all of their eyes. Even the happy, carefree, and supportive air that seemed to follow them around had seemed to have withered away like a stricken tree.

The news about the happenings in the forest had traveled quickly. Everywhere they went, curious and sympathetic eyes followed them from the cafeteria to the classrooms. A student being seriously injured on any encounter outside the city was not the cause of all the gossip, all though this sort of event was rare, it was expected. The intrigue was actually how _fine_ Alden was given what had happened…

Several students were staring in confusion at a Bullhead that was coming into land, which had suddenly stopped its approach and even pulled away from the landing pad. Their attention turned to the noise of another aircraft approaching at full throttle. Just before it reached the pad its engines turned to face backwards and burned to decrease its velocity. The moment it touched down the side door opened and the occupants disembarked in a hurry. The medical team were pushing a stretcher towards the side emergency entrance into the medical wing of the school, the members of team MANA hot on their heels...

They weren't even sitting on the chairs in the waiting room when the doctor came out. She looked worn out but mostly relieved.

"He's going to live." She said, the members of MANA let out breaths that they didn't know they were holding.

"But," She continued, "we've had to put him into an induced coma, there's possible spinal damage and we can't have him moving about or it will just make it worse."

"Is it anything permanent?" Nite asked.

"Hopefully not," the doctor replied, "To be honest an impact that hard without any Aura? Every bone in his body should have been pulverised, the chances of even surviving that, with his skeleton intact, is statistically impossible. We're at a loss at how he's not in a wheelchair, let alone alive."

The doctor allowed them into the room. A heart monitor was happily beeping in the corner, Alden was lying in the bed in the centre of the room. The only movement was the slow rising and falling of his chest. He was wearing a hospital gown, but on the left side it was bulkier from all the padding and bandages where one of his ribs had broken. Scratches and friction burns were dotted around any exposed skin.

The doctor walked over to one of the monitors and pointed to one of the squiggly lines. "He's entered REM sleep…"

"What?" Aegan asked.

"Rapid Eye Movement- he's dreaming…"

"Miss Aletha?"

Maya shook her head to bring her attention back to the real world. Professor Peach was looking at her whilst he was standing in front of her desk.

"Welcome back." She smiled warmly.

Professor Peach was by far one of the youngest teachers at Beacon. Her warmhearted attitude and a severe hatred of homework made her an instant favorite of students. It was virtually impossible to get into trouble with her and she actively banned silence in her classroom unless it was for a test. Her laid back approach to teaching gave her near infinite respect from nearly all of the students.

"Did you forget to bring your jar to class?" She asked.

"No, I've got them here," Maya replied and reached into her bag and pulled out two jars filled with red sap, one of them had a large crack running down its side and placed them on the desk. Once professor Peach saw it, Maya could see a small shadow of sadness cross over her eyes.

"Okay everyone, if you just take a tiny dollop of the sap and place it on the slide." Everyone scooped a small amount out of their jars, they placed it on the tiny glass slides and inserted them into the microscopes resting on top of their desks. They all looked down into them and observed the structure of the sap and quickly scribbled down notes and diagrams of what they saw.

The Professor then walked around the classroom and gave each student a tiny cup of fire dust. "Once you have finished taking notes, I want you to observe the dust I have just given you and tell me what you find." She returned to her desk, pulled an empty chair to the side of the room over and sat on the desk, using the chair as a footrest.

After a few minutes, everyone had finished taking notes. "So, what did you find?" Professor peach asked as she swung her legs down and looked over the room.

"They're nearly identical," Blake stated.

"Exactly!" Professor Peach grinned, "Someone stop me if I get too nerdy on you all, but the sap contained within the tress of the Forever Fall share striking similarities to fire dust, although various changes in its atomic structure means that it is far less concentrated and potent than its dust cousin. This habit of spontaneously combusting allows for it to be used as an emergency fuel for a fire if you're ever out in the wilds that way as well as the dictating factor for the Forever Fire festival later in the year, because although the sap is highly combustible it also protects the trees themselves allowing them to appear unharmed even after a several hour forest fire. I'll demonstrate, can everyone come and pour what's left on their sap on this sapling here?"

Everyone stood and walked to the front of the classroom and with several splats, they dumped the sap onto the young plant and returned to their seats.

"To show you how it all works, I've even gathered a sapling from the Forever fall, so there's no cheating here." She pulled the safety goggles that were resting on top of her head in front of her eyes. She pulled out a lighter and clicked it before holding it close to the sap.

Like a Christmas pudding, the sap lit up in a cone of fire. The professor even took a step back to avoid it.

"The heat generated from the burning sap," She began to explain "Causes the underlayer to crystallise, forming one of the most heat resistant substances we know of today."

The sap burned away, leaving the sapling underneath completely unharmed, though it looked like it was covered in a polished surface, like amber.

"And there we go!" the professor declared cheerfully. "As you can see apart from this glossy layer, the plant is completely untouched."

She carried on for another half an hour, explaining the different properties the sap had which allowed for their various applications. MANA was grateful for something a bit more relaxing to preoccupy them.

It wasn't long until the bell sounded, signaling the end of the lesson. Everyone quickly packed up their stuff and shuffled out from the desks. They hurried out of the classroom in an attempt to avoid the stampede. They tucked themselves into a corner as they watched the tidal wave of students wash past them.

"We've got Oobleck next," Aegan said, "So you'll be having more fun than us whatever you do."

Maya snickered "You should really try paying attention, it helps." Aegan just stuck his tongue out.

"I'm going to head over to the medical wing, the doctor hoped that he would come around today so we'll see if I get lucky." They nodded and headed off down the corridor. Maya turned the opposite way and headed out.

She noted that actually, this was her first time walking alone through the corridors since the formation of MANA, She was always walking with either one of her team or occasionally Velvet. She didn't mind it, of course, she appreciated the time alone to properly think.

Maya pushed open the door and walked out into the open air. She sucked in an entire lungful of air and sighed happily. It had been raining this morning so the soil had been turned over releasing that wonderful smell of rain. She shivered when a cloud slowly drifted over the sun, blocking its warmth from reaching the ground. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and quickly walked across to the other side of the school, dodging various crowds as some preferred to take the outside route to travel around.

She walked past the outside of the large pond dominating the centre of the Beacon grounds. She needed to get into the back of the right wing so she walked along the outermost path which led along the cliff face. She quickly spared a look over the city and her eyes were drawn to the small shape of a ferry, slowly drifting in from Patch. She felt her mind drift to several days ago when she last used it…

Considering the fact that she had lived in a city for all her life Maya found the rocking of the ferry as it crested the waves oddly comforting. The sun was getting low in the sky, it was melding with the horizon casting a pinkish-orange glow across the water.

"You know most people that board this ferry actually live on Patch, so forgive me for my intrusion Miss, but I couldn't help but wonder why you are aboard?" A man asked from a few feet behind her position of leaning up against the railing.

"Something happened on a field trip, I'm going to speak to the family of one of my Teammates." She replied turning to face the newcomer. He looked like he was getting on in his years, but the white and blue hat, as well as the three stars on his shoulder, suggested he was the captain of this vessel.

"Ah. A huntress," He said, "Did you know that patch has an unusually high ratio of Huntsman and Huntresses to any other occupation?"

"No, why's that?" Maya asked.

"Patch is still mostly untamed so to speak, so its home to some of the greatest survivalists. The people here are not so attuned to the comfortable life of the city, they're at home in the wilds no matter where it is. If you ever get stuck outside a kingdom with a Huntsmen or Huntress from patch then you're in good hands."

"You sound like your speaking from experience." Maya pointed out.

"Aye lass, I once captained a ferry to Vacuo. On one trip a couple of sea Grimm approached undetected and slammed the ship into the rocks. Luckily we went down near the shore, so everyone was evacuated safely. We were stuck halfway between kingdoms next to a giant forest. Nearly everyone on board were city dwellers, so we had no idea what to do. But we were carrying a team of Hunters: MORD, one of them grew up in patch, Marcus Cirq, a good friend of mine," Maya's eyebrows raised at the name.

"He was able to teach everyone how to forage for food. Use twigs, leaves, and sap to create plasters and bandages. We would have all starved to death if it wasn't for him, he kept us alive long enough for rescue to arrive. He suggested that Patch was a good place to move onto, nothing too dangerous but it still has the call of the sea."

He looked towards the bow of the ship, "We're nearly there, I should report to the bridge. Have a nice time on Patch- it's a beautiful place." Maya smiled and nodded.

Standing on the docks on Patch was a weird experience, the sound of waves lapping against the shore were new to her, and the forest that laid before her made her feel uneasy. She shook her head and headed up the track.

The forest wasn't as dense as forever fall, so Maya didn't feel particularly jumpy. However, after several minutes of walking, she suddenly felt like a massive idiot. She travelled to Patch to tell Alden's family what had happened. But she had no idea where they lived. She assumed it would have a similar layout of any other village, with road names and houses neatly arranged.

Patch was not that at all. In her entire incursion into the island, she had only seen one building. She suddenly felt very lost.

She kept walking until she saw a cosy looking wooden building ahead, relieved she jogged up to it. Unlike Vale, the building didn't have any physical boundaries, but there was nothing else near it so she assumed it didn't really need any. She slowly approached the door and gave it a few hesitant knocks. She could hear footsteps approaching from the other side. The door opened to reveal a tall blonde man, he cocked his head sideways when she saw her.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"I looking for the Cirq family," She said, "But I've kind of gotten lost." She felt almost nervous under the gaze of this man, and her tail began to twitch slightly. This caught his attention and he looked down, then back up with his eyes widened in recognition.

"You're Maya aren't you?" he asked.

"Umm… yes, how did you…"

The man stepped aside to reveal a small chest of draws near the door, on it was a large picture frame. In it were twelve people and Maya instantly recognized it as the picture MANA, RWBY and JNPR had taken a few weeks ago so they could send it home if they wanted to.

"I'm Taiyang." The man introduced himself, holding out his hand in greeting, "Yang and Ruby's father."

"Oh! It's nice to meet you!" She said shaking his hand and smiling.

"I've just been on the phone to Yang, she told me what's happened. I hope Alden is ok, he's a good lad."

"The doctor's said he's going to live at least."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "That's great news." He then nodded further down the path, "keep going that way, it will break off to your left, then it's the first building on your right," he directed.

Maya took a step back from the door, "Thank you, have a nice day!" She waved in farewell before turning and headed deeper into the forest.

She easily found her way to the Cirq's home and she knocked again.

"Maya?" Someone called from behind her, she turned to see a girl walking towards her, about a year younger. Her brown hair was curled over her shoulder, she had remarkable emerald eyes that seemed to shine in the sunlight, a lot like Alden's actually…

"Mary?" She asked. The girl smiled.

"Nice to meet you in person."

"Likewise."

"So…" Mary asked, "What brings you all the way out here?"

"I need to talk to everyone… something's happened." Maya said, not quite wanting to meet her eyes.

The colour drained out of Mary's face, suddenly picking up on the fact that Alden wasn't actually with Maya.

"I'll get Mum and Dad, stay here." She said before sprinting around to the back of the house. Maya stood awkwardly by the front door, she took the time to have a look around:

The Cirq's abode was constructed from oak planking, with two large windows either side of the door, there a dormer sticking out, overlooking the road behind her. The house itself was surrounded by trees, but Maya could catch a glimpse of a much larger opens space around the back.

Mary returned with two people hot on her heels: A tall man with a relatively short brown mop on his head, and a blonde woman, whose hair curled down her back. She was also who Alden and Mary got their eyes from, even though from her face she was clearly worried her eyes seemed to glitter in the sun. Maya immediately recognised them from the few video calls Alden sent home over the past few weeks.

"First up," Ogora began, stepping closer to Maya, "Is everything Ok?" she said concern dripping from her voice.

Maya bent her knees slightly as she was trying to think what to say, "It will be." She said, springing back to her full height.

Ogora nodded slowly. "Ok… well, you better come in, tell us what's happened." Marcus opened the door and led everyone inside.

The Cirq's abode was… warm, and cosy. Unlike the Aletha's house where the walls were white and it was full of artificial light. In here there were no lights on, the entire house was lit by the sun. The walls were a yellow creamy colour and several pieces of wooden furniture were dotted around the hallway. She was led into a large sitting room where two sofas dominated the room, facing a television mounted on the wall.

Maya was offered a seat on one of the sofas, she couldn't help the sigh from escaping her lips when she sat down. The cushions were so squishy that if she wasn't here on a very serious matter she would have stood up just to experience flopping down on it again.

A minute later Marcus walked in from the kitchen with steaming cups of coffee for everyone. She gave a smile of thanks as she took hers and took a sip as Marcus sat on the opposite side of the sofa.

"So, what's going on?" Mary asked, crossing her legs over each other.

"Well, Alden has been hospitalized, with a broken rib and in a medically induced coma," Maya explained.

"A coma!? What happened?" Marcus asked.

"Well it's a long story… And it doesn't really make sense…"

Maya shook her head again, that was the second time her mind wondered today. By now the ferry had docked in port. She shivered again as she started to feel the cold getting to her, she turned on her heels and jogged back towards Beacon…

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Alden's head hurt, his mind was drifting from one stream of thought to another. He tried to listen out for anything as he tried to get his bearings on where he was.

"Hang on. We've got a sudden increase in brain waves. You may want to stay Maya, I think he's coming round."

Alden tried to open his eyes, but his sight was unfocused. He could only make out a few blobs. He groaned and lifted his hand to cover his eyes. He also tried to sit up but yelped in pain as it felt like a white hot poker was just shoved into his spine.

"Easy there Alden, easy." He heard Maya say. He felt someone help pull him up into a sitting position against what felt like the headboard of a bed. He managed to open his eyes. The image of Maya smiling was what greeted him. She was sat on the side of the bed, her tail resting over his lap.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like an old man." He replied, "I feel like I'm going to need a walking stick."

"If you weren't training to become a huntsman then that would be a very accurate assessment." A doctor said from nearby, she was tapping on her scroll. "Your Aura seemed to have regenerated just enough to protect your skeleton from shattering. You're lucky to be alive."

"So, what have I missed?" Alden asked

"You've been out for around a week," Maya explained. Alden suddenly noticed the IV drip connected to his arm. "All the professors understand the situation, so luckily for you, you don't have much catch up work. Though you've got yourself in big debt with me."

"How?" Alden asked raising his eyebrows.

"Do you know how hard it is to keep Aegan and Nite in line just by myself?"

Alden burst out laughing, but then coughed as the pain flared up in his ribs.

"D-Don't ma-ake me lau-ugh like that!" He managed to wheeze out.

After he recovered he suddenly felt restless, "I need to get out of this bed." He declared slowly pushing his legs round to the side as the doctor pulled out the drip in his arm. He shakily got to his feet. The doctor handed him a pile of his clothes and pointed out a small changing room at the end of the ward.

Alden had to take very slow deliberate steps to avoid hurting himself. It even took him a few minutes to get changed.

When he wobbled out of the changing room he wanted nothing more than to get out of the hospital wing. He looked at Maya, "What day is it?"

"Thursday."

"What lessons do we have again?"

"Nu-Uh." The doctor interrupted, "Well rested, that rib will heal fully within a week, considering that this semester ends in a week, you're taking it off."

"But…"

"No Buts, if you put too much strain on it now then it will only make it worse."

Alden's eyes blinked at her a few times, seriously considering objecting. But his shoulders fell, "Fine…" He said biting his bottom lip.

The doctor's scroll sounded a little tune, "Oh!" They said, "Professor Ozpin wanted to see you when you woke up, said it was important."

"Really? Does that man not know how awkward it will be to get to his office?" Alden asked slightly off-put by the difficult task ahead.

"Come on," Maya said, "I'll come with you." He smiled in thanks. He quickly turned to the doctor.

"Send my thanks to anyone who helped patch me up, would you? I would hate them to feel like their work went unappreciated."

"I will, now go on, you've got a long journey ahead." She smiled sarcastically.

"Oh ha, ha."

Alden began to partly limp and partly walk out of the room, luckily this part of the hospital wing was right next to the centre spire of Beacon so he didn't have to far to walk. _It can't be that bad, can it? _Alden reasoned.

Five minutes later after what should have been a twenty-second walk, they arrived at the central lift that headed up to Ozpin's office. Maya pressed the button to call the elevator and they could hear a slight humming from the shaft as the machinery started up. A few seconds later the doors slid open with a ding.

Alden looked at the array of buttons on the panel, the lift could take them to roughly thirty different floors.

"How long do you think it would take if I pressed all of them?" Alden asked.

"I think we would need to look at the erosion of a stone instead of a calendar," Maya said as she pressed the top one. The lift rumbled slightly as it began its long ascent to the top of the spire. Thankfully no music began blaring from any speakers.

Half a minute later the lift dinged again and the doors slid open to reveal a very large circular room. Most of the light came through the ceiling but several gears and cogs working as the clock mechanism cast a fluid shadow across the room. The room was mostly empty, apart from another cog mechanism on the far right of the room the only piece of furniture was a large desk across from them. Sitting at it was professor Ozpin, behind him as the giant clock face that Beacon was so well known for.

"It's good to see you up Mr. Cirq, the doctor's reports were fairly grim if you will excuse the pun."

"It will take a bit more than a tree to take me down sir," Alden replied.

Ozpin's eyebrows raised and he took a sip of his coffee.

"But it wasn't just a tree, was it? According to your team, you were attacked by two individuals."

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't"

"I see… Your team only got a brief view of them before they vanished, even Professor Goodwitch couldn't provide a description, I was wondering if you had a chance to fully observe them."

"They were both roughly between two to five years older than me I would say. One male and one female. The man fought with… light? I didn't really get a good view, he was also massive, great physical strength, but slow. The woman fought with weapons made of Ice and incredibly agile, she was the one that got the hit on me."

"I see…" He said again "Are you sure there was only two?"

"Positive."

"That is strange…"

"What is sir? Do you know these people?"

"Maybe… But I'm not quite sure."

He looked lost in thought.

"Tell me, was there anything unusual about the way they acted?"

"Apart from trying to kill me?"

Ozpin nodded.

"They first offered for me to join them, they said I was too "distracted" by my friends and then one of them clicked their fingers and these weird pools appeared which spat out Grimm… It seemed like they honestly believed that if they killed them then I would follow them. They said they wanted to be "reunited" they specifically said the terms brother and sister, like we were related…"

Ozpin's eyes furrowed, and he almost looked… worried? Scared? But then his expression snapped back to its usual stoic façade.

"Thank you Alden, I will try and figure out who these assailants are, no one attacks one of my student's unprovoked and gets away with it."

"Is there anything else sir?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, There's a Bullhead waiting to take you home, I don't think the tide is going to be too kind on your injuries."

"Thank you."

"See you next semester. Enjoy your time off."

"And here I was thinking you may be able to help me get Aegan and Nite back in line." Maya said as they approached the bullhead."

"Someone talking about us?" Aegan said as he and Nite jogged up to them. "Heard someone's getting the week of you lucky bast…"

"Go shatter you ribs, maybe they'll be lenient to you too." Alden replied before he could finish his sentence."

Alden slowly clambered onboard the Bullhead and held onto one of the overhead grips to steady himself.

"When the week is over do you guys fancy coming over to Patch for a few days? It'll be fun."

"I'm up for that," Maya said alongside the various sounds of agreement from the rest of the team.

"If you don't mind, I'll drop off the notes from the last week tonight," Maya said as the engines began to roar to life.

"That'll be fine! I'll see you later!" Alden yelled over the engines as the bullhead began to lift off the ground. He waved down to his friends as they slowly became specs in the distance as the Bullhead made its way towards Patch…

"Just put her down there," Alden told the pilot as the Bullhead hovered over a forest clearing just outside his home. Alden felt it slowly drop down and he could see three figures leaving the house to observe the aircraft landing.

Alden slowly hopped out and got instantly crushed in a hug by his sister.

"_Mary,_" Alden wheezed out, "Watch the ribs."

Mar pulled back and smiled sheepishly at him.

He was soon joined by his mother and father, who were a tad gentler in their greetings, but not much.

The trees were bending and swaying and leaves were spun around like a hurricane as the Bullhead throttled up and lifted away from the ground. It soon was a mere splodge and everything grew quiet again, except of course from the quiet rustling of the leaves being carried on the wind. Alden breathed in his first proper lungful of home for nearly two months, and _oh _that _smell._

Alden felt an uncontrollable smile form on his face at finally being home again. He could see his house from the corner of his eye and he was holding back the urge to run towards it. But he suddenly remembered something:

The sofa

Oh… The _Sofa!_

Alden could no longer control the urge.

He dashed away, even though his ribs hurt, leaving his family with confused stares. He sped through the door and just there, his best friend.

He flopped face first and felt a rush of nostalgia as it cushioned his fall. Mary dashed in through the door, concerned what the rush was for. She saw him with his legs bent up in the air and his face distorted against the cushions. Alden heard her run in and held a thumb up over the back of the sofa.

"M' Okay!" Came his muffled voice.

Mary blinked a few times before keeling over laughing. Marcus and Ogora soon came through the door before joining in with Mary, even Alden began to chuckle even though his face hurt.

It was good to be back.

Alden slowly extracted himself from the sofa and his signature childish grin formed on his face after he saw his family shaking their heads but smiling.

"I'm hungry," Alden stated as he disappeared into the kitchen.

The rest of his family smiled at each other with warm, but exasperated smiles. If they had to describe Alden in a word, spontaneous would be one of them he was never in one place.

"Slow down Alden, you look like you haven't eaten in a week," Ogora said as she watched her son devour a sandwich.

"I haven't." He said with his mouth full.

"Charming."

When he finished, he put his plate down and walked back into the sitting room, even though his rib began to hurt again, the endorphins racing around his body at being home were blocking out the pain. He collapsed back on the sofa and the rest of the Cirqs joined him. The room fell into silence as they all savored the feeling of being reunited again.

"Maya came round a few days ago, told us what happened," Ogora said.

"Nice girl," Marcus said, grinning at Alden.

Alden raised his eyebrows at his father and collapsed back on the sofa, "Really? It's literally been two months and you've already started."

"What?" Marcus asked innocently.

"It took you ten _years_ with Yang,"

"Not now Marcus," Ogora gently reprimanded, "Did you have any idea who those people were?"

All the happiness seemed to have drained out of Alden in a second. "No… But I feel like I do? You know the feeling when you pass someone on the street and you could swear you've seen them before? It was like that, except they were trying to kill me."

"Well, at least they were chased off," Mary said.

"Maya told me that the woman said that they'd be back… And I believe her, whatever _this_ is, it's not over."

"True," Ogora said, "But having more than one fight with someone puts you on a more even playing field, you won't be so outmatched next time, and you know how they fight."

"But they know how I fight too." Alden retorted, "And they seemingly appear out of nowhere, they could be out there _right now_ and we wouldn't know a thing."

"I _want _them to be out there," Marcus said, "I don't just want to give them a piece of my mind, I want to give them _all_ of it."

"Amen to that," Ogora and Mary said at the same time.

"Guys, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but they're… something different, they took me out within minutes, if the others hadn't managed to get in, I would be dead."

Mary sighed and stood up, "Come on Alden, I need to show you something." She walked out of the room and Alden could hear her opening the back door. He got up and followed her.

They entered into the field at the back of their house, Alden saw Mary reach behind her and pulled out her unfurling staff, she lunged at his legs before it had even fully deployed. She meant to trip him up but Alden's semblance kicked in and he reappeared further off to the side. Mary grinned as her staff rested on her shoulder, the tips expanded and electricity arced at the edges.

"No holding back ok?" she asked

Alden's Gauntlets deployed and the blades ignited, from the corner of his eyes he could see their parents standing at the door, watching the duel.

Mary charged and tried to use her longer reach to get a hit off before Alden could, He ducked and rushed forward, but he was blocked by the other end of her staff. She swung again and Alden jumped over it, somersaulting over her head and landed behind her, he tried to swing backwards but was again blocked by Mary.

She had definitely improved.

But then Alden noticed her fighting style was incredibly similar to Maya's, he had a lot of practice under his belt at this.

He stood back as she swung a few times before rushing in, catching her staff with one of the blades, he rushed in- the blade scraping across the staff's side. He slid across the ground as she twisted and swung the other side at him, he blinked to the other side, leaving her completely exposed. He looped an arm around her neck and kicked her legs out from under her and slammed down. He stood on her staff which was lying on the ground. Mary was immobilized and couldn't attack which left Aden as the victor. He felt quite proud that he had won quick enough before she could get her semblance off, which would have hurt. Alden was told that his Aura only reformed about three days ago, he wasn't keen to lose it again.

"See?" Mary said, "Even with a healing rib, you just wiped the floor, and that's with just two months at Beacon. Before you left we were nearly equal in skill. Whoever these people are, it won't be long before you're at their skill or better."

Alden helped her up and they walked back towards the house.

"That was good Alden, you've definitely had some practice," Marcus said as they walked back into the kitchen.

"I have, you should see how the rest of my team fights and they could even keep _you_ on your toes."

Ogora raised her eyebrows, "Really?"

Alden nodded, "They're coming over at the end of the week, I'll arrange a demonstration if you want?"

Marcus smiled "Ok, It's been awhile… it'll be fun."

Alden loved the smell of the sea, it was always so fresh and he could faintly taste the salt on the air. The moon was slowly rising above the waves, casting a silvery glow across the water. There was a gust in the wind, tussling his hair and pulling at his clothes. To his left, he could hear crickets and owls greeting the night.

He settled down onto the sand and breathed out a long sigh.

"You know, for a small island, it's incredibly hard to find anyone on it." A voice came from his right.

Maya stood a little ways away from him.

She looked like she shivered ever so slightly and pulled her jacket tighter to her. The white wooly interior of the jacket flittered about in the breeze. Over her shoulder, she was holding a bag. She walked towards him and slung the bag over.

"I've got all the notes from the past week," She said as she opened the bag and pulled out a large wad of papers. "Though it would have been easier if you weren't out cold so you could have taken these yourself." A sly grin formed on her face as she stood next to him and held down the papers.

Alden smiled as he took them "Thanks, I'll be sure to tell those weird people next time if they could go easy on me because my team takes too long to come and help."

Maya's tail whipped out from behind her back and hit him squarely on the back of his head. Alden couldn't even react because he expected any retaliation to come from her hands.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Alden complained.

"Don't sass me sunshine," She said as a gust blew across the back causing her hair to whip around behind her. When it settled her hair fell like a shredded tree upon her head.

Alden snickered at the sight and ducked under another swing from her tail. She shook her head and tucked a stubborn strand behind her ear.

She sat down on the sand beside him and looked up at the night sky.

"I like it here, it's so…"

"Peaceful?"

"Yeah"

"Only one problem growing up in Patch: it makes you hate being in cities."

"I can see why... everything is so still, it can make you believe that even Grimm don't exist."

"That would be a very grave assumption to make, there are Grimm on Patch, it's a beautiful place, but it will claim your life if you don't respect it."

Maya snickered "I bet…"

"Seriously, Yang nearly got herself and Ruby killed when they were much younger. One day I went out to see if Yang wanted to play but she wasn't anywhere, their dad was out for the day and I saw she left a note saying she took Ruby to go look for something on the other side of the island. Luckily their uncle had come to stop by to say hi to the girls, I told him where they went and he shot off. He came back with Yang covered in scratches and bruises: they were attacked by Grimm just before their uncle arrived. They're _incredibly _lucky to be alive."

Maya nodded to show she was listening.

"Though… don't tell anyone else that, it's supposed to be a secret, and it's not really mine to give away."

"My lips are sealed."

They ended up talking some more,

And more

And more.

Soon an hour passed

And then another.

Maya finally yawned and stood up, "I've got to go, I'm shattered and I would like to make it back to Beacon before tomorrow.

Alden looked at his scroll; his face being illuminated by its soft glow.

"I'm afraid you can't do that…" He said.

"Why?" Maya asked.

"The last ferry left an hour ago…"

Maya's shoulders slumped and she glared at Alden.

"Don't worry you can crash at my place, the sofa is more or less a bed anyways."

"I know Maya said, I wished mine at home were even _half _as comfortable as yours."

"It's great isn't it?"

Maya turned to head back up the beach but was stopped by Alden reaching out and grabbing her hand.

"Wait, there's a reason I stayed up this late," Alden said retracting his hand, the dark red bush made invisible by the night. "Come on." He pattered the spot next to him again.

"What is it?" Maya asked as she settled down again.

"It's an event that only happens once a year, and luckily we've got a clear enough sky tonight." He said gesturing to the blue and purple galaxy stretching across the sky; unobstructed by the glow coming from Vale across the sea.

"I don't see anything…" Maya said as she scanned the sky for anything unusual.

"Come on… any minute now…"

As soon as he finished the sky lit up in a fabulous display of greens, purples, oranges, and blues. They looked like waves, dancing across the sky

"_Wow,_" Maya remarked staring at the sky, lost in wonder.

Alden smiled at her, "That's not all."

Suddenly little sparks streaked across the sky, leaving behind orange trails. There were several shooting stars skipping across the atmosphere like a pond.

"This is the only place on Remnant where you can see this, the lights from the city ruin it."

"It's amazing."

"We get Arouras all the time, it's an aroura mixed with a meteor shower is what's rare. Though this is probably the best-kept secret on Patch, we don't really want the place to be swamped by tourists to see it."

"Don't worry, I'm keeping this view to myself." She said.

"What, the sky, or me?" Alden said and immediately slapped his hand over his mouth.

Maya shifted and looked at home with a raised eyebrow

"I'm sorry! I didn't think what I was saying! It was supposed to be a joke…" Alden said as he cowered away from Maya's gaze, his voice muffled by his hand.

Maya stared at him for a few more seconds, before her lips curved up in a smile and she erupted into laughter.

"T-that was s-so _bad!_" she stuttered, "How did you even come up with that?"

"I don't know…"

"Its fine, lady killer." she smiled. Alden groaned and buried his head in his hand.

Alden eventually returned to his prior position and they watched the Aurora in silence.

Although Alden couldn't help but noticed that her shoulder was ever so slightly touching his…


	10. Chapter 9: Déjà vu

Chapter 9: Déjà vu

Aegan breathed a sigh of relief when his feet finally touched the wood of the pier, he certainly _did not_ enjoy the rocky ride over on the old ferry to the small island.

"It wasn't that bad!" he argued against the sarcastic stare Nite was giving him.

"Right…" She said smiling whilst shaking her head as they walked across the pier towards the mainland. "So what was with those shaky hands of yours gripping the railing all the way across?"

"Shut up."

Maya laughed from her position slightly ahead of them. And turned around to look at them both before rolling her eyes.

"So, where are we going?" Nite asked Maya as they dodged around a group of dock workers unloading cargo from the ferry.

"Well Alden said he would meet us just outside the dock," Maya said as they were walking past several administration buildings, which took control of all the paperwork, ledgers and cargo coming in and out of the small dockyard.

They exited through a large lifting gate and out into the island itself. Up ahead they could see Alden, he was resting amongst the higher branches of the tree. He seemed to have been there for quite some time, considering he was asleep in the sun.

They stopped at the base of the tree and stared up at him.

"Should we wake him up or…?" Aegan began.

Maya put her hands over her hips as she looked at the tree, she began analysing the branches and trying to find the route Alden took up to his spot in the tree. She linked several branches together within reaching distance. Her tail flexed before she leaped up at one of the lower branches, she dangled there for a second and grunted as she pulled herself up. She crouched on the branch, her tail extended out behind her to help keep her balance. She then jumped to another branch, extending her arms out as she wobbled, she looked up and jumped again before she could slip. She scrambled from branch to branch until she locked her arms around the branch next to Alden.

Her ascent up the tree had seemed to disturb him enough that he was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes by the time she had got to his branch.

"Oh hey." He said, his voice groggy from sleep and stretched his arms, Maya could hear his bones click.

"Are we that boring?" Maya said watching Alden sit up against the trunk.

"You aren't but that ferry sure is." He retorted whilst looking down and waving at Aegan and Nite below.

"I didn't think a tree is the most comfortable place to fall asleep in."

"You are obviously a city girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He yawned before swinging his legs over the side of the branch, so they were dangling below him.

"Anyway, come on, places to be, people to see," Aden said and then pushed off, he landed on a branch below before hopping off and gracefully came to a running stop on the ground. Maya just straight up jumped and rolled when she hit the ground.

"This way!" Alden sang as he led them up the path and deeper into the forest. Maya felt a smile form on her face as she saw the slightly nervous expressions on Nite's and Aegan's faces as they entered the forest. They haven't had the best of luck when it came to forests recently, Alden seemed the only one truly at ease.

"Relax." Alden said, sensing their anxiousness, "If you stick to the path you won't even see a Grimm."

"We weren't supposed to see any Grimm in forever fall either." Nite retorted.

"True, but there are probably just as many retired huntsman and huntresses on this island as there are Grimm so it's just about as safe as the rest of vale, as long as you aren't stupid."

It was as Alden said, they stuck to the hewn dirt road deeper into the forest and not even Aegan detected any Grimm. He took them through a shortcut that Maya hadn't noticed on her trip to Patch and soon they were stood in front of the Cirq's household.

The sounds of a… Whirring? Could be heard from the other side of the house, Alden quickly recognised it as Mary's staff swinging with the lightning dust deployed, joining in the cacophony of noise was something sounding suspiciously like a shotgun, Alden knew only one person which had something similar.

When they walked around the side of the building they were greeted with the sight of Mary backflipping over the top of Yang and sweeping her staff out, which knocked Yang's legs out. As she fell she managed to get one last swing out which collided with Mary's leg, the weapon fired and it sent Mary tumbling too. They collapsed into a panting, laughing mess as the fight had come to an end.

Yang had fallen looking towards the house so she saw them as they arrived, she wordlessly raised a hand in greeting- her gauntlets folding back into their bracelet form. Mary slowly stumbled to her feet and offered a hand down. Yang took it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Not that I'm displeased to see you, but what are you doing here?" Alden asked Yang.

"Ruby and I came to visit dad for the day, but we saw Mary when you had gone up to the docks and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to drop by."

Alden raised an eyebrow. "Mum?" he called out to the house.

"Mhh hmm?" Ogora hummed as she poked her head out from the back door, "what's up?"

"Didn't you say you were going to bake one of your chocolate cakes today?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

Both Alden and Mary slowly turned towards Yang and Ruby who was sitting reading a book a little ways away, glares on their faces.

"What?" Yang asked.

"You didn't come here because you wanted to see us did you?" Mary accused pointing a finger.

"We have no idea what you're talking about…"Ruby said innocently, her interest being peaked by the sudden silence.

"And I have no idea what's going on," Maya said, looking between all parties involved.

"Yang and Ruby have an unhealthy attachment to our mother's baking, normally that's no problem except they eat _our_ portions!" Alden complained.

"We would _never_ do such a thing! To even suggest that we…"

Ogora popped back out of the door again, holding a cooling rack covered in a towel. "It's finished!" She jokingly singed before looking at Yang and Ruby "Would you like a slice girls?"

"Yes please!" they both said instantly.

"Typical…" Mary muttered.

Everyone filed into the house, it wasn't small by any means but fitting a family of four as well as one and a half hunter teams it was pretty cramped. Marcus came in brandishing a knife and within minutes the entire cake had been consumed, sticky chocolate marks covering their hands and mouths.

"That, was divine…" Nite moaned, licking her fingers. Alden watched Aegan slip out the door and lean up against the wall. He squeezed past Mary and joined him outside. Aegan had his eyes closed but his ears were standing tall on his head, and he could see his nose flexing as he took in huge lungfuls of air.

"What you doing?" Alden asked taking a spot next to him.

"I've only ever really been in forests three times before, two of those I couldn't exactly stop to take it in." Aegan said staring out across the forest, his ears twitching at any slight noise coming from the rustling of a squirrel nearby.

"Do you like it?" Alden asked.

"Gods yes, I mean, the sounds of the birds alone are better than the cars and voices in vale."

Alden nodded, "I hated my first trip into the city as a kid, it was just so noisy, I couldn't discern any of the noises from each other, it gave me a headache."

Aegan looked at him weirdly.

"What?" Alden asked.

"Most people don't talk like that, you sound like you rely on hearing."

"Not now at least," Alden explained, "when I was young I had a sight issue, my eyes didn't point in the same direction, so I couldn't judge distances. I had an operation when I was older to correct that, but I spent all my life having to listen to tell the distance instead of sight."

Aegan nodded, "how good is it still?"

Alden closed his eyes and stilled his breathing. He could hear the squirrel from before, it was making _ch-ch-ch _noises as it was eating a nut it found on the forest. He could overhear the conversations inside: Maya was telling Mary about a technique with longer weapons, Nite and Yang were having an argument about the best way to take down a Deathstalker, and the rapid firing munches which was the unmistakable noise that someone just gave Ruby a bunch of cookies. Even further afield he could swear he heard footsteps through the forest and beyond that a bird started singing from its nest, it wasn't within their line of sight but Alden pointed towards it, still with his eyes closed.

"That bird song is coming from roughly five trees behind that one at the top." He said.

Aegan turned to where Alden was pointed and extended his ears out, The bird sang again and he turned to Alden with a look of respect in his eyes, "Are you sure you're not a Faunus?" he asked.

"Alden was no fun when we were kids, he could always hear when Rubes and I were trying to sneak up on him," Yang said. She had walked out of the building when she noticed they had disappeared. "I swear it would have been better if he were blind!"

Aegan chuckled at the statement.

"I'm sure you would prefer it, it may mean you could have been a better fighter than me…" Alden said, his sarcastic smirk taking precedent.

Yang shifted her weight to her other foot and crossed her arms, "Is that a challenge I detect? Because you're on."

They walked out further into the field, just to avoid any accidental damage to the house. And the air filled with the noises of their respective gauntlets deploying, they stood at opposite ends of each other.

"Hang on, hang on…" Aegan said looking between the two.

"What?" Alden asked.

Aegan summoned them over to him, he then took both of their wrists for a closer look. "Umm…" He said looking between their gauntlets, "They're the same."

"No, they're not," "Yang said, there are definitely some differences."

"_Some_" Aegan picked up, "Not many."

"What's going on? I thought we were going to see a fight!" Nite called from the house. They could see everyone looking at them from the door and the window in the kitchen.

"Their weapons are too identical for it to be a coincidence," Aegan called back.

"Really?" Maya said as she jogged over to them, she had a look for herself, "he's right, did one of you copy the other?"

"They designed them together," Ruby said as everyone walked out to see what all the commotion was.

"We were suffering from a massive lack of inspiration at the time," Alden explained "we decided to work together when we were happy we made personalisation changes and bam. They are different, but the cores so to speak are the same."

"Is that even allowed?" Nite asked.

"Do you think we cared?" Yang smirked,

"Good point."

Yang unexpectedly threw a punch at Alden, he blinked out the way and her fist sailed harmlessly through the air. Everyone backed off as to not get hit. Yang pointed her gauntlets behind her and fried, she shot through the air as fast as possible but Alden was already prepared. He sidestepped and grabbed her leg as she went passed, he turned and anchored his weight down. They skidded back a few feet and Alden's feet dug into the earth. Yang fell to the floor and Alden spun round, the blades extending and igniting, he swung down but was blocked by Yang's gauntlet, she pushed her legs up into the air and then forced them down, the inertia flipping her back on her feet.

She kicked out but her leg was pushed down and she had to block two more swings from Alden. She managed to parry the last one and pressed forward, her weapons favorable in more extreme close quarters than Alden's.

Alden narrowly dodged one punch before being forced to blink backwards, and he squeezed his triggers, two fireballs streaking across the field, Yang jumped over one and literally punched the other out of existence in mid-air. She landed and rolled before firing her own shots in kind. Alden's clothes lit up in purple and he jumped several feet into the air. The projectiles passing underneath him. Yang growled and sprinted towards him before jumping and firing down to propel herself into the air.

Alden saw her fist about to smash into his face. He blinked and then suddenly he was behind her, he reached and grabbed onto her jacket with both hands, by her shoulders. He brought his knees up a high as he could, so his feet were resting across her back. He pushed his weight upwards and they drifted so she was facing the ground. The dust deactivated and he pushed out with his legs, forcing himself upwards, and Yang down.

She flipped and landed safely and fired some more shots at the falling Alden. He landed and rolled out of the way of one of the shots, leaving just another hole in the field. Yang charged again, Alden ducked and held one of his arms up, the blade grazing across her side.

"Umm… guys?" Aegan said, staring out into the forest.

"What is it?" Maya asked, walking up beside him as she ducked under a shot from Alden, "watch it!"

"Sorry!"

Aegan nervously shuffled from foot to foot, "Do you feel… Like we're being watched?"

"I know what you mean," Mary quietly said as she joined, "I thought I was just hearing things, but…"

"Something's circling us…" Alden said, forgetting his fight with Yang, he wasn't paying attention to their conversation, but he could defiantly hear footsteps walking around them.

"You hear them too?" Aegan asked him as he looked around them.

Alden hummed in confirmation, he could feel his heartbeat skyrocket, last time they were in a similar situation it didn't turn out too well…

He stared out into the forest, but he couldn't see any of the shadows from before. He listened again, filtering out everyone else's voices… he could hear footsteps in leaves, but slow… almost dragged. And they were getting quieter…

"They're onto us, they're running!" Aegan called as he sprinted into the forest. Alden, Mary, Yang, and Ruby immediately sprinted after him. They lived in Patch and there was one rule you had to follow… You don't go deep into the forest on your own, _ever._

The rest of team MANA raced after them, leaving the rest of Cirqs oblivious to their disappearance as they had gone inside the house.

Alden quickly caught up with Aegan, "Where are they?" he asked as he jumped over the root of a tree. He couldn't hear them over their own footsteps, but he knew Aegan could.

"It's running... actually it's keeping the same distance as it was when we were in the field… I need to test something." Aegan immediately came to a stop.

"Did we lose them?" Maya asked as the rest caught up, Aegan held up a hand to shush her. Alden listened again, they had stopped running, and in fact they had resumed circling around them.

"They're over there, right?" Maya asked trying to confirm where she thought the mystery person was pointing further into the forest.

"Yep," Aegan replied.

Maya began to hastily scramble up a nearby tree. When she reached the top she looked out over the tree canopy. She mostly just saw green leaves, from the trees. The forest was fairly dense in this part. However movement did catch her eye, and then she saw them… more like _it._

It looked humanoid in nature, two legs, two arms, and a head, but the black flesh and the white bone plates gave it away, they were being tracked by a Grimm. She saw it turn to look at her, even at this distance she could feel its burning eyes glowering at her.

"It's a Grimm! Not sure what kin…" Maya suddenly flinched, she felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her mind, her eyes began to feel like they were on fire, and she was feeling sick.

She grunted in pain, "I… I don't feel so goo…" She managed to slur out before she collapsed and smashed to the ground.

"Maya!" Alden called and race to her side, she seemed alright. Her aura took all of the fall so she wasn't injured. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and Alden flinched when he saw them, they were blood red…

She reached out, her arm a blur, her hand gripped around Alden's neck and push down, slamming him into the ground. She snarled and raised her fist and punched Alden in the face, his Aura flashed, but he was too shocked to offer any resistance.

Mary's sibling defense instincts kicked in, and her staff quickly unfolded and she uppercutted Maya with it, which flung her off Alden and she crashed into the ground off to the side. Alden quickly got to his feet, so did Maya.

She was snarling like a cornered dog, her eyes not her own colour and her hands were curled like claws.

"What's doing this to her?" Aegan asked.

"No idea…" Alden said before slowly taking a step forwards.

She growled and leaped at him again. This time, however, Alden was prepared. His gauntlets deployed and he intercepted her fists, she tried to kick him, but he stepped forwards and to the side, this unbalanced her and he pushed forwards, pushing her over onto the ground.

"Yang! Grab her other arm! Nite, Aegan! The legs!" He called.

Everyone quickly rushed over to help Alden pin Maya down. She kept struggling.

The Grimm broke through the undergrowth, it was about seven feet tall but very skinny. It was growling at them, it had two huge teeth protruding from its mouth as well as huge claws. One of it's eyes was the usual Grimm red, the other was glowing, like it had a red torch fitted behind its eye, everywhere the Grimm turned, the eye was locked onto Maya.

Mary and Ruby stood between them, everyone else was held up with pinning Maya down, if they let go she would break free and they would have two things to worry about. Their weapons unfolded and they took up a defensive stance between the Grimm and Maya.

"Be careful! We don't know what this thing can do!" Yang called from behind them.

They slowly advanced, the Grimm mirrored their every move.

"Go for its eye!" Alden shouted once he made the connection. Ruby rammed her scythe's blade into and she looked through her scope. The Grimm seemed to be able to sense the danger and charged with surprising speed, Ruby couldn't track it in time but Mary stepped in and slammed her staff's edge into its chest, Lightning crackled from her weapon and struck the Grimm sending it flying back into a tree. However it did not evaporate as they expected it too, instead, it just got back to its feet and shook itself off.

It swung its claws at Mary and she raised her weapon to block it. She pushed the bottom half down so it struck the Grimm between the legs, she pulled left pulling its foot off the ground before rushing forward and spinning, tripping it's other leg up and sending it crashing to the ground. Ruby rushed forward and rammed her scythe down, the blade going straight for the chest. As it collided her scythe bounced harmlessly off its skin.

"Wha- how…" Ruby said in shock. It slammed her aside and she skidded across the ground, it then leaped at Mary, she dodged and struck it four times with her staff, each time shocking it with lightning but it still didn't evaporate.

"This thing just… won't… die!" She growled as she hit it. She backed off as it swung at her.

"Any suggestions?" she called.

"Umm… Nite! Shield, between us and them!" Alden called behind him. A few seconds later a dark grey shimmering barrier formed between them, "Mary, let it rip!"

Mary smiled in glee, she sprinted towards the Grimm, her hands gripping her staff so tight her knuckles went white. They heard something which sounded like a sonic boom as her foot touched down just before the Grimm. She swung her weapon, _hard._ So hard in fact, that the air literally cracked on impact and the reaction force dug a large hole several feet deep behind her. Nite's shield shimmered and cracked but thankfully didn't fail. Even the Grimm couldn't stand up to the sheer force, it's skin shattered, and the bones cracked before its very limbs were separated from its body and they sailed off into the air. Every single bird on Patch took off in fright, and later that day some residences were talking about an earthquake.

Mary panted and rested up against her staff. Nite and Aegan were looking at her with shocked respect.

"_Wow,_" Aegan said.

"I- I'm not allowed- to directly hit someone with it in training, it would kill them with or without an Aura," Mary said whilst panting, her Aura was drained.

Maya blinked below them and tried to shift her weight, her eyes had restored to their usual icy blue. Everyone got off her limbs and Alden helped her sit up against a nearby tree. She groaned as she rubbed her palms against her eyes.

"What happened? One moment I was up the tree, and then it looked at me and then…" she shook her head. "Where is that Grimm?"

"In Pieces." Mary replied, shakily returning to the group, "I could eat an entire horse now."

"You should have seen her!" Aegan said, "She can put my semblance to shame."

"Really? I wish I could have seen it."

She hobbled to her feet, her eyes narrowed and she reached for her weapon.

"More." She said.

Everyone turned and all grabbed their weapons, they got a snap glance of a few more shapes moving around the undergrowth. Aegan, Yang, and Mary flinched before Nite could raise her shield. It rippled twice in level with Alden and Ruby, but whatever it was they were deflected by Nite.

Nite _pushed_ with her mind, forcing Aegan, Yang, and Mary out of the shield. They all growled and leaped at the shield but bounced off harmlessly.

"Is this what happened to me?" Maya asked, staring down one of the five Grimm that approached them.

"Yes, the only way to free them is to kill the respective Grimm controlling them."

"Let's get on with it then." Maya said and swapped her weapon to its rifle mode."

"We can't."

"What do you mean we can't?"

"Mary was the only person who managed to kill it, even Ruby's scythe is useless." He said gesturing to Ruby who was busy glaring at the Grimm which had got her sister. Alden could sympathise, he didn't really care that these things couldn't be killed, he wanted to beat to death the one that had Mary anyway.

"How did Mary do it?" Maya asked.

"She used her semblance, which is a one-off and kind of breaks reality and several laws of physics."

"Right… What about your parents?"

"I'm not calling them."

"Why not?"

Alden nodded to two of the Grimm off to the side, "They haven't got anyone, there's one for each of my parents and it would make everything worse."

"So what do we do?" Ruby asked.

"Honestly? I don't know, how do we kill them?"

The two unoccupied Grimm suddenly turned around staring out into the forest, Alden could see something else stalking through the bushes, this one was defiantly human, considering they didn't' have bony appendages, and he could see the hilt of a sword sticking out from behind them. They ran off into the forest and the two Grimm followed them, still leaving them outnumbered three to two.

"We'll have to gang up on them, see if they can be overwhelmed," Maya said staring down the closets Grimm, protected by Mary.

"Nite, Ruby you take the one on the right, we've got the left one," Alden said.

"On it"

With no threat from being "taken over" the shield dropped, Ruby and Nite shot forward towards the Grimm controlling Yang, Their weapons did no damage but Nite successfully managed to immobilise it by using her whip, though its teeth could not cut the Grimm's hide.

Maya and Alden both vanished, Alden reappeared behind the Grimm but his blades bounced off, he disappeared before Mary could move to attack him. As Mary was distracted by the Grimm's back Maya just appeared at the front and her blade just slightly cut into a weak point in its hide by the shoulder, but couldn't do any more damage. She could have just attacked whilst remaining invisible, but the Grimm could only pay attention and command Mary to attack what it could see. Maya appearing and then disappearing caused Mary to move to the front which allowed Alden to reappear and attack unimpeded, this caused Mary to move back and then Maya attacked.

Alden blinked further back and leveled his gauntlets, the grapple fired out and wrapped around its arm. He pulled and yanked its arm out, Maya grunted as she swung her glaive in a vertical arc and it lodged itself in its armpit, but inertia carried it through and the blade tore the creatures arm off. It howled in pain as May spun through and then stabbed it in the exposed flesh. The Grimm growled again but it didn't die. Alden blinked in front of it and rammed his blade straight through its glowing eye.

Thankfully this time the Grimm evaporated, Mary blinked a few times before collapsing to the ground. There was no time to check up on her as Nite and Ruby were being pushed back and Nite just managed to block a direct hit from Yang with her shield.

"Be careful not to hurt them!" Ruby shouted referring to Yang and Aegan.

Alden and Maya directly targeted their controlled friends, allowing Ruby and Nite to square up to a Grimm each.

"I would prefer that to them killing us!" Alden replied, bashing one of Yang's fists aside mid-swing, Maya intercepted one of Aegan's swords and pushed him away with the shaft of her glaive.

Yang took two more swings which Alden dodged out the way, he found this strangely unsettling, the only reason he knew Yang wasn't herself was because her hair wasn't glowing. He had pissed her off before, he knew what those eyes meant. He spiraled around her and slashed out, getting two hits across her back and sending her stumbling forward. They had to disable them without hurting them, and Alden couldn't' think how they could do that.

Ruby and Nite weren't having much luck either. Ruby's weapon was too inaccurate to get a hit on their weak spots, and Nite couldn't get close enough because of her weapons range against the length of the Grimm's oversized arm.

Movement caught the corner of Alden's eye, someone sprinted across the forest right into one of the Grimm, as they past Alden noticed the Grimm no longer had a head. Before it could evaporate the figure had thrown something at the other, a large gleaming longsword smashed through its bone chest plate, ripping it asunder and then punctured out the other end. The force of the throw carried it onwards and pinned it against a tree. The first Grimm evaporated and Yang collapsed to the floor. The second one didn't but it was too preoccupied at the weapon impaled in its chest to command Aegan.

The figure slowly walked up to it, they were clad in all black clothing and a dark hood and balaclava covered their face. They walked right up to the Grimm's face and stared at it. The Grimm even deliberately dropped Aegan and they could see its eye flash at the newcomer but it didn't seem to be able to take control.

They slowly reached out and grabbed the handle of the sword and simply _pulled._ It was enough to yank the sword from its dislodged position in the Grimm's bone plate.

And pull the entire tree down. That too.

They wiped the dust on the blade on the grass, they then flipped the sword over their shoulder and with only a major bit of finesse they sheathed the weapon in a scabbard running diagonally across their back. They slowly turned towards them and Alden felt his blood run cold.

The only part of their face which was exposed was their eyes, and they were glowing a sickly red, just like Eryel and Mansell.

Alden blinked backwards several feet and he leveled a gauntlet at it, the dust particle charging up.

They raised their hands in a harmless gesture and didn't move any other muscle. Everyone else (Who were still conscious) quickly cottoned onto what Alden had seen and their weapons deployed again too.

Very slowly, the glow in the newcomer's eyes began to fade, revealing a hazel colour with golden specks in it.

"So," they said. Female, definitely young, around their age but… experienced? Their voice carried a lot of weight to it. "I take it you've met the others then."

"You better give me a good reason not to shoot you." Alden threatened his finger itching on the trigger.

"I didn't whisk you away into our own little dimension as the others did?" she asked almost more like a question. "And I was the one who let your friends in with Mansell and Eryel back in Forever Fall, otherwise you would have been long gone by now."

She slowly raised her hands to her face and pulled the hood and Balaclava down. She had long tar black hair and a relatively angular face. Alden couldn't read any hidden hostility in her and slowly, along with everyone else lowered his weapon.

"So, who are you?" Alden asked.

"My name is Furla, and I am the same relation to you as Mansell and Eryel."

"Those two tried to kill me." Alden wearily said, even though his weapon had lowered it hadn't folded away. His finger was still resting on the trigger.

"They tried to kill me too, I've been trying to avoid them for a year. I did a pretty good job of it… until I got word of you."

"Why am I so important?"

"We're… soul siblings? We all have our own families… well, at least we _did._ But our souls are especially interconnected, which is why it was so easy to find you, as you haven't learned to hide it yet. It's why those Grimm were here."

"Those Grimm were here because of me?"

Furla nodded, constantly shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

"Those were… what's the word? Agents? They are not your typical Grimm, they're stealthier and tougher than the smaller types and by no means mindless, they actually try to avoid detection, but I don't know if they report to anyone.

Alden held a hand up to top her,

"You're losing me here, it's a lot to take in. Firstly how the hell are souls connected? That doesn't make sense."

"Had any nightmares recently? Any contain flashes of green and red?"

Alden's breath caught in his throat.

"Ho-how did you know about…?"

"How many?"

"One."

"Oh dear, so they're just started."

"What?"

"From what I can figure out, they are like… indoctrinating? The people you see in them, they come from a long time ago. I think we are related to them, At least with mine, I have seemed to inherit abilities and characteristics of some of them, definitely not others. But often I can see three other people: One is always linked to Mansell, another is always linked to Eryel, and the final one is always linked to you. Linked enough that I know you're called Alden for a start."

Alden thought back over the last few minutes, he had definitely not introduced himself.

"How do you know we're connected?"

"You said you've already had a nightmare correct?"

Alden nodded."

"You start off with everything fuzzy, you can't see anything. Then a flash of red is coming towards you but is seemingly blocked by a green light. Accompanied by sounds of glass smashing and stone cracking, it repeats, several times. Then suddenly you're flung into the air and it's hot like an explosion went off at your feet. You hit the ground but you discover you can't breathe, it's like one of the fragments have punctured your lungs. Your vision is suddenly clear and you're staring at children, all girls and all dying, you feel scared and sad before everything goes black."

Alden could feel his body going into shock, his hands were shaking and he was breathing fast.

"H-How?"

"We've all had that dream Alden, just from different perspectives. You would've been holding a black stuffed dog toy."

Alden's mind was whirring as he tried to process what Furla was saying, his friends were wearily staring between them both, but considering she hadn't attacked them they had stayed their blades for now.

"I would have been the one laying just in front of you. For some reason we are all connected to these siblings, that's why I believe Mansell and Eryel use call us "brother" and "sister" But there is definitely no blood relation there, we are all too different. But something has linked us all together. I've been trying to figure that out for years, Mansell and Eryel seem to know, but they won't tell until I join them. It's for the club's eyes only but I sure as hell don't want to join the club."

"So some part of us appears in each other's dreams, and that makes us connected? How does this all work?" Alden asked.

"It's _far_ more complicated than that but you're struggling to believe me as it is." She sighed, "Look when you're next in Beacon, tell Ozpin you found the third, and also mention the fact that I didn't try to kill you, I don't need him hunting me down too."

"Why would Ozpin hu…"

"It's a long story…" She paused and seemed to be listening to something, "Look, I think Mansell and Eryel know where I am, so I'm going to draw them away from here." She said as she walked over to Mary and dragged her palm over her eyes. Mary blinked a couple of times and groaned as she regained consciousness. Furla walked over to Yang and Aegan and repeated the process.

"Just a word of warning though… the next nightmare you have, you will see yourself stabbing someone in the neck, so just a heads up. Think over what I said and I'll find you again soon." She smiled before pulling her hood and Balaclava up and then she seemed to dissolve, and evaporated off into the air.

Alden stood there staring after the drifting particles, Maya slowly walked up to his side.

"What?"

Alden isn't quite sure who said that it was just as likely to have been him. He could feel the onset of a headache coming on. He pushed all the events to the back of his mind when he Saw Mary dizzily get to her feet. He gently swung her arm over his shoulder so he could support her, Ruby and Nite did the same for Yang and Aegan.

"We can try and figure out what the hell just happened when we're safe, I just really want to get home."

"Amen to that…" Yang groaned, using her free arm to rub her temple.

The group slowly headed back the way they came, following the broken plant life left from their chase through the forest to guide them home. As they got closer they could hear Alden's and Mary's names being called by Ogora and Marcus. They hurried towards them when they emerged from the undergrowth.

"What happened?" Ogora asked as she examined Mary for any injuries.

"That's… an excellent question, one I'm still trying to figure out." Alden replied as they were led inside. Everyone assembled within the living room. The Sofas quickly filled up so Alden opted for sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall.

The room went silent, waiting for Alden to begin.

"We met another one of _them,_" Alden said looking at his parents.

They quickly cottoned on "Are they what did this?" Marcus growled gesturing to their fairly beaten up state.

"The contrary, we may not have made it out with everyone if it wasn't for them," Maya said.

"There were these Grimm, we haven't seen their type before. Once they knew _we_ knew they were there, they took off running. We managed to catch them, but they were nearly completely armoured. Most of our weapons were ineffective, Mary got one Maya and I managed to take another one down, but we were lucky. There were roughly six of them I think? This person killed four of them, by herself."

"Are you sure she is like the people who attacked you?" Ogora asked.

"She said so herself, she's been trying to figure out what the connection is for years, from what I gather she said no to Mansell and Eryel too… and she's been running ever since."

"How do you know if she can be trusted?" Mary asked

Alden nodded, "I've been thinking about that myself. She seemed much more genuine than the others. My gut says she can be trusted, but I've one too many bad experiences with this type of person for me to believe that fully just yet."

"Why are they so interested in you?" Ruby asked.

"I have literally no idea. Words relating to "sibling" have been thrown around by these people, but they are definitely not family. She mentioned something about being related through souls, like our ancestors may have been related at some time or… something…"

Alden sighed and pushed his head into his palms.

"I don't know… I feel so out of my depth here. I've got a completely unknown type of Grimm following me, strangers who can disappear into thin air telling me we're related like some psychotic family and half of them want me dead. It doesn't make any feasible sense. It's like the universe has suddenly developed a weird sense of humor, and I'm the punchline."

"We'll figure this out, one way or another." Nite said.

The rest of the day dragged on like one of professor Port's lectures. Alden tried desperately to do everything he could to keep his mind occupied, he helped his parents cook dinner, he and the rest of MANA walked with Yang and Ruby to their house and spent a few minutes talking to their father, and he made sure that the living room was properly set out so his teammates could stay the night comfortably. But his mind was constantly haunted by his thoughts, he couldn't get the vision of the bright battle-axe smashing into him and the feeling of him crashing through the tree.

Even during dinner he was quiet, locked away in his own contemplation of recent events, and trying to come up with plans to find a way out of this mess, but quickly giving up because he only knew who these people were that were interested him, but he didn't really know _who_ they were. Only their names, but not what they wanted with him, and why they were there in the first place.

Nothing made sense.

He hated it, he felt like he was a pawn in the chess game, blindly trying to move forward under the whims of someone else. He had to find why Mansell and Eryel wanted to be "reunited" and also why had Furla rejected them? What was different about her to the others? Did she reject them for the same reason Alden did? Or did she have greater plans for herself? Alden would have to do some digging, digging very deep.

Soon the sun dipped below the horizon and everyone set about going to bed. Alden gave up his room, to stay with his teammates, crashed in various places across the living room, creating their own makeshift dormitory. They said goodnight to Alden's family before curling up on the floor, covered in blankets to protect them from the hardwood paneling on the floor.

"We'll talk to Ozpin when we get back to Beacon." Maya had told him, "He must be able to figure something out from all of this."

Alden agreed, Ozpin had already seemed like he may have known something about this particular topic, right now, he was their best bet.

He tried to slow his thoughts, just for a few minutes and thankfully he felt himself drift off to sleep…

He could feel his face being illuminated by the light of the moon, he was moving quickly, through a field. He could feel the crops brush at his face. Up ahead he could see his target: A modest wooden farmhouse in the middle of the farm. He knew that within this building was his enemy, and all he simply needed to do was kill him and fulfill his mission.

He signaled back to three people behind him that the coast was clear and they slowly began to advance to his position.

"They are likely within the main chamber," One of them said, gesturing to the large glass window at the back of the building."

"Agreed," said another "How do we proceed?"

"I'll get in first and unlock the door from the inside," Alden said, "We want to catch them by surprise at full force, I don't want him getting away this time."

Alden slowly began to stalk towards the building, careful not to move to quickly to draw attention whilst keeping an eye out for any sentries. He reached the wall and slowly peeked in the window. There were five people inside, most were simply inconveniences but his eye's zeroed in on his target: a short man, with cropped brown hair. He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt and suspenders clipped to his trousers. He was seeming to be counseling with the other occupants of the room.

He pulled his head back, he couldn't risk being seen now. He slowly crept off to his left, around an outcropping of a building before blinking across a window to make sure he couldn't be seen if they had any guards. He finally reached the door. He looked off to his right, he could see the others methodically making their way through the field towards him.

Alden slowed his breath and concentrated, he could feel everything become dark and shadowlike and he simply stepped through the closed door. Inside was a long hallway leading up to the door which entered into the main chamber. There were two guards standing in front of it. Confident that they couldn't see him, he walked right up to the first one and relaxed…

The guard flinched like he had seen a ghost, which was an apt description. Without hestating, Alden reached an arm around his neck, spun and _pulled_. Snapping his neck immediately. He flung his elbow out, jabbing the Adam's apple of the other, stopping him from crying out, before ramming his palm out and into the guard's nose, shattering his Aura and forcing his nose bone to jam into his brain. He held both of their collars as he lowered them to avoid making any more noise. He stopped and listened, he could still hear a conversation going on in the other room. Good, they were still unaware.

He silently bounded over to the door and began pulling the bolts back and unlocking the door. He opened it to reveal the others who silently walked in but gave nods of thanks.

"I still don't know how you manage to phase through things like that." One of them said.

"You'll figure it out, we all have it. It's one of her gifts." He replied.

They made their way back to the other door and lined up against it. The big one held up his fingers in a countdown.

3…

2…

1…

He stepped back and kicked the door down. He rushed through and a large glowing battle-axe formed in his hands, he pushed through the wreckage of the door and swung his weapon, managing to take one by surprise and nearly decapitating her instantly.

Another rushed in and locked herself in combat with one of the more proficient looking ones, she tried to disarm them with her ice swords.

The other rushed in, unsheathing a longsword from her back and charging into the back where one of them was running.

He charged last and locked eyes with the target. He began stalking towards him. They reached down and picked up their weapon, it was silver hilted with a long thin finger guard running down the handle. They pulled on it and a long black tube raced out of the end.

He blinked and appeared off to the side of his target, but he turned to face him. Alden felt two blades form by his wrists, murky black and whispery, but likely one of the deadliest weapons on Remnant.

The others had carved a bloody slaughter throughout the room, only two remained.

Alden charged and locked his weapons with his opponent, but jumped o over the top and slashed down, but he was blocked again. Though in his surprised state, he had not grounded himself properly and Alden easily landed and swung his foot out, off balancing him and sending him crashing to the floor.

As he was falling he pushed his fist out and his blades pierced through his Aura and cut into his neck. He let out a few strangled gasps for air but couldn't as his windpipe had been cut, and his body slowly relaxed and the life left his eyes.

The blades disappeared and the targets body crumpled to the ground. Alden slowly turned. The others had left one clawing his way across the ground. But all fighting worthy opponents lay dead at their feet.

Alden walked towards the last one and stopped to hear what he was muttering:

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no"

Alden felt a sick grin form on his face and reached his palm out. A black ball of energy formed in his palm.

The man crawling on the floor stopped when he heard it and pitifully turned onto his back to see what it was. When he saw him his eyes grew wide and he started whimpering in terror.

Alden lowered his palm and pointed the ball at the man. He started staggering back, clawing using his hands and feet.

"No, _please…_

No.

No, no…

_NO!_"

**End of Volume 1**


	11. Volume 2: The Cirqle of Life (trailer)

**As the Nightmares get worse, MANA starts to dig deeper into who these mysterious figures are, and what motives they have. Maya is contacted by a friend which pulls them into a murder investigation, all the while having to prepare for their first mission as huntsman and huntresses, which… all things considered, should be a good break…**

**Right?**

**A small collection of things to come:**

"Hey! Tukson! How are you doing?"

"They didn't do it."

"Dannis?"

"He was in my dad's team, now he's the head of the Vale police force."

"No one knew he was leaving, except… Oh, gods…"

"Why are we connected? Why me?"

The shop was dark and quiet, Maya didn't like it one bit

"I would look north, there's a small village up there. You should check it out, if you get the opportunity…"

"Mike. Did. You. Tell. Them?"

"We're a rumour at best and a myth at worse."

"Those, are a lot of airships."

"That." Professor Peach said, staring at the ominous device, "Is a very, _very_ big bomb"

"Isn't it strange that General ironwood has parked his own personal army on top of Vale?"

"An anomalous figure funded the project, obviously an alias. No one has that kind of money lying around."

"We need to get to that cave, _now._"

"What do you mean you're evacuating an entire village?"

"Hello Alden," Eryel said with a predatory grin.

Maya rolled her eyes, "I'm not made of glass Alden…"

Nite looked like she was nearly frozen in fright, but she managed to dive out of the way.

"We're stranded on our own, miles away from the kingdom and you expect me to believe everything' going to be Ok!?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"My son is not dead."

Maya flinched and tried to pull her tail away, "Sorry, sorry" Alden muttered but kept his grip.

"Adam?"

"How do you expect me to do that?" Alden asked Aegan, "Hey Maya we've literally been inside each other's heads, can we chat?"

**This is the Authors note part:**

**So… the story survived its infancy! After countless hours and a word count which suggests I have written half a book, here we are at the end of Volume 1: A Beacon of hope! As I have said before this is the first story I have ever written, so It really was a trial by fire, (as the first chapters show, I still cringe at those, as I will probably cringe at these last few chapters later on. But we live and learn right?)**

**I want to thank each and every one of you for reaching this point and hope you want to keep going. It is my full intention that MANA will only end when RWBY itself comes to a close. I know there are many other stories which add their own teams to the story but I really want mine to stand out eventually, so here's to the future!**

**I would like to publically thank UT Midnight Sky for really bolstering my resolve in a trying time near the end of vol. 1 So if you really want this story to continue, thank them because it may not have made it this far.**

**I would also like to thank everyone who private messaged me with questions and words of support, I won't say their names just in case they don't want their names published, but you know who you are. So to everyone I give my thanks from the bottom of my heart, I didn't even expect the amount of attention I've already received and I honestly believed it would fade out sooner rather than later. But thanks to you all we continue at full steam ahead!**

**Please do feel free to leave a review or private message me, I would love to hear your, thoughts, opinions and ideas of this story, (honestly when you put this much work into something, just someone saying "I like it" gives you the best feeling in the world. For those who haven't, you should try it someday.)**

**MANA has plenty more things to go wrong for them, and my head is still overflowing with ideas for future chapters and volumes.**

**I would like to thank everyone again and I hope you stay with us until the end.**

**Until then! **

**Etherway**

2


	12. Vol 2 Ch 1: Scarlet Skies

Vol.2 Chapter 1: Scarlet Skies

"So When fire dust burns it produces an incredibly strong endothermic…"

"Exothermic," Alden corrected Maya, "Imagine it as energy _ex__i_ting the reaction. Endothermic is when it takes in energy."

Maya was sitting on at Alden's desk, her notes splayed out across the surface. One hand kept playing with her fringe and she was gently chewing on the top of her pencil. Alden was lying on his bed whilst absentmindedly playing with a Rubik's cube. Nite and Aegan were sitting at the foot of the bed, with their notes across their laps. They had a test for professor Peach coming up in a few days so everyone was working together to revise for it. They had been at it for a few hours now and everyone's brains were starting to get a little frazzled.

"Ughh" Nite groaned "How do you remember all of this? Endothermic this Ectathermic that…"

"Exothermic," Alden said again.

"Exothermic," Nite corrected herself, "I'm struggling just to keep one in my head."

"We haven't even got onto Gravity or hard light dust yet," Aegan said.

Nite groaned again and flopped backwards onto the bed. "Why is this all so complicated?"

"Look," Alden said, "The four main types of reactions are formed by fire, ice, earth and wind dust, all other reactions are caused by mixing these, like colours. So steam is mixing fire and Ice, to get water and then mixing in more fire to get steam, makes sense?"

"Okay, but what about, gravity, lightning and hard light?"

"Those are the only exceptions I think." Maya said whilst scanning over her textbook, "though there could be others… like…" Her head bumped down on the desk, and she too groaned "My mind is mush."

"I second that we need a break." Aegan agreed.

"We've been at this for hours, and… Oh, wait! I just remembered I'm in charge! We're having a break." Maya said standing up and grabbing her scroll form her desk, tiding up her notes and placing them back with her own things.

"Did you seriously forget?" Alden asked, "you know MANA begins with an 'M' for a reason right?"

A pencil flew across the room and Alden ducked to avoid it so it thunked harmlessly against the wall beside him.

"Shut it."

Everyone packed their notes away and went about retrieving their stuff. Ruffling could be heard from all corners of the room. Alden placed the still unsolved puzzle on his desk and pocketed his scroll.

They walked out into the empty hallway, they were some of the lucky few that didn't have lessons that day so they weren't required to wear the uniform. They headed down the stairs and out into the courtyard. Students were milling about in the courtyard as they waited for lessons to restart, but there was a surprisingly large amount today.

"Why is everyone out here?" Aegan asked, looking around to see if they could find any explanation. They walked under the exterior pillared roof of the cafeteria and looked into one of the large windows which dominated the hall.

They all stood there for a moment, lost in disbelief. The tables were… moving? One of them were even cartwheeling across other tables before coming to a stop in its place at the end of the line, right next to an angry-looking professor Goodwitch.

Other than the professor, the only other occupants of the room, were three of the members of team RWBY as well as JNPR, but they were completely covered in vivid colours and various splatted pieces of food.

"What?" Nite began not quite understanding what she was seeing still.

"Umm…" Aegan said looking up. They followed his gaze and they could see something falling out of the sky. Alden saw a flash of yellow mixed in with a similar red colour to Beacon's uniform and wait…

He looked back into the room. Only three members of RWBY.

Maya nudged him and pointed to their right, Ozpin himself entered the hall as a crash could be heard above them. Debris rained down inside the building a split second before Yang crashed to the floor.

"What?" Nite asked again.

"I don't even know anymore," Alden said staring at the scene before him.

Ozpin put his hand on Glynda's shoulder, he was saying something, but they couldn't make out what it was. He turned and headed back to the door, he walked past two other people but Alden didn't recognise them. They approached the others and began conversing with them, they seemed to know each other well enough.

He locked eyes with Yang and she smiled once she noticed that MANA was staring at the events that had just unfurled. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Yang just laughed and made a shooing gesture with her hand.

"_I'll tell you later."_ She mouthed at him. Ruby saw Yang looking somewhere else and turned around. When she saw them she gave her own wave in greeting. They returned the gesture but Alden shook his head at them with an exasperated sigh and turned to walk away.

They navigated through the crowds of student's loitering about the grounds and circled around the fountain. Alden found himself staring at the tree where he had seen the shadow before, he could see glowing eyes and the darkness which seemed to flow off them…

He shook his head and the shadow was gone, all his imagination.

He jogged back to his friends before they could notice he had lagged behind. He wondered if that day he had actually seen Mansell, Eryel or Furla or if they had been something else…

They were lucky. The airship had already docked so they didn't have to wait for it. They quickly boarded it just before the doors shut and it slowly drifted away from the jetty. They quickly found their usual place by the back left window and sat on the benches as the airship drifted towards the city.

"What are we actually doing?" Aegan asked.

"I don't know we didn't actually make plans. Any ideas?" Maya asked.

Nite looked out of the window and over at the sea, her eyes locked on the horizon.

"Back at Vacuo, when we were caught in a dust storm or just wanted some family time, we would shelter in the arcade, it was a massive compound, with every form of game or entertainment. It had slides from one floor to another, and there were drink stands lining up against an entire wall…" She smiled sadly out over the distance. Aegan reached out a comforting hand which rested on her shoulder. She looked down and gave a sideways smile at him.

"Oh! And there was always this game we would play, there were these simulators and you would…"

"Scarlet Skies?" Alden asked.

"Yes! Have you played it?"

"Mary and I will always give it at least one round whenever where in the city."

"Oh, my gods we should totally do that!" Nite said.

Alden couldn't help but smile, this was the happiest he had seen Nite… Ever actually. She always moved like she was constantly hiding from her own shadow. Even when she was smiling and laughing, it was always restrained, like she kept reminding herself that she shouldn't be feeling happy. After their chat in the park, it became one of MANA's top priorities to break Nite out of her shell. It could take years. But they also had years and plenty more. Alden found himself concerned often that he was catching himself believing that his new friends were ever so surely taking Yang's place as his best friends but would often chase them away. He, Yang, and Ruby had been best friends since infants.

Although he was finding it harder and harder to deny it. MANA was constantly together, they were becoming a surrogate family. Three months it had been now, time was racing past.

"I second that, the arcade here is amazing too, we should go," Alden said.

"Alright," Maya agreed, "but what is this game you are talking about?"

Alden grinned "You'll have to see it to understand, but trust me, it will be the most fun we've had."

He then looked at Nite "Pilot or gunner?"

"Pilot." She replied.

Alden smiled and held his fist out, Nite fist-bumped him.

The airship finished its slow descent and everyone piled out. They rushed ahead of the crowd and out into the airport, the streets were getting more and more crowded as more and more students from the other kingdoms. They had noticed the long gazes Nite would give at the Vacuon uniforms, they were probably bringing back to many bad memories, or good ones, they could never tell.

It wasn't long before they were standing before a grand building, it had four spires, reminiscent of the old Valeian architecture but with neon signs hanging on the outside, advertising different companies inside. As they entered, they felt the air-conditioned air rush into them, and music was banging out from several huge speaker sets dotted around the place: in the corners, the ceiling, even smaller versions were attached to the employee's uniforms creating a weird redshift effect of music as they walked around.

Overhead was a huge set of swinging lights, like a concert and they danced a pattern of light across the floor. Alden hated the place the first time he entered, but slowly over time he began to like the feeling of being surrounded by so many strangers yet all combined with similar purposes and beliefs.

He led his team to the far side, across the giant red carpet which traveled through most of the building. As they looked around they could see nearly every game and event imaginable, from swimming pools to arcade machines to even a holographic dance-off against other people from different kingdoms.

The arcade was especially full this time of year, other students had flocked to the place to the point of where you could always hear a conversation going on, even over the music.

They got to the end and turned right in through a large archway with a large holographic banner with a huge SCARLET SKIES written across it, backdropped by a video feed of what was actually happening in the simulators so all they could see was the gentle lapping waves of the ocean, it looked quiet for now, good.

The room had twenty simulator pods, ten aside. They were large, grey, and pebble-shaped. Most other pods were occupied but everyone looked like they were preparing and Alden could spot some people teaching others how to play in a few other pods, so they had plenty of time.

"It's two people per pod." Nite explained, grabbing Aegan by the arm and yanking him and pulling him to the closest pod, "You two get that one!" She called pointing to the empty one next to theirs. Alden held his thumb up, confident that she wouldn't be able to hear him over the noise from the room and led Maya to their own pod.

As they got close all the noise suddenly faded away and a holographic bubble surrounded them.

The chatter from the arcade was replaced with the chatter from flight crews milling around the deck.

Standing a few feet away from them was Nite and Aegan and Maya hesitantly began walking towards them, expecting the scene to fall away and appear back in the arcade.

"The projector is following us." Alden said, "So you only exit when you want to."

"Where are we anyway?" Maya asked looking around. They were standing aboard the flight deck of a massive carrier. Its monotonous grey colour a dark blight against the vibrant blue of the ocean.

"This is the MNF Oberon, one of the carriers in this world. There are several located in various game worlds so different simulators connect to different ships which then rotate around."

They finally reached the others.

"I like the Oberon," Nite said, "But the Nadalti is my favourite."

"The Nadalti is an Atlesian prototype," Alden explained.

"Our crew hasn't finished yet," Nite said "So I'm gonna use the time to get Aegan up to speed, you should do the same."

Alden nodded and gesture for Maya to follow him. They walked further across the deck and they turned to see Aegan climbing up a ladder into their craft. They continued on until they reached another. "This is ours," Alden announced.

"This is a DL-84 Javelin," Alden explained, "We're on a Mistral carrier so we fly Mistral aircraft."

"Wait, slow down." Maya began. "What?"

"Right… We're playing a game called Scarlet Skies. The first edition was created a decade ago. Made the creator very rich because it's ridiculously popular. And that was before the world's militaries learned of it."

"Why is the military involved in the game?" Maya asked, "isn't that a little sinister?"

A man wearing a green jumpsuit approached them.

"I'm sorry, the lads are still doing the final check-ups and refueling, it'll be ready to go in five minutes."

"Thanks," Alden said, "She's new so take your time." The Man smiled and nodded before jogging back to the maintenance crew currently crawling around the aircraft.

"The people are so well designed for npcs," Maya said examining one of the crew. Once she said it he looked down at her and grinned,

"I wouldn't want to be played, Miss." He said.

Maya blinked in shock as Alden walked up behind her.

"This is where the military part comes in. We essentially play a game, but the world's militaries use it to train naval crews, he's a real person in mistral somewhere." He explained.

"Really?" She asked looking back at the man.

"He's right miss, junior flight mechanic Brandon, at your service." He said whilst tipping his hat.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Maya apologised.

"No worries miss, people make that mistake all the time." He said turning back to his work as he was using an Omni drill, to fix a panel back in place. He then looked back at Alden, "You'll be ready for the air soon. "We're nearly done."

Alden nodded in thanks before turning back to Maya and led her back towards the back of the aircraft.

The Javelin reminded Maya of a Beowolf hidden in the bushes and ready to pounce. It looked hunched at the front, predatory in every way. Even the nose had a set of snarling Jaws painted on it.

"See that?" Alden asked pointing to a slightly blocky structure sticking out from above the aircraft, "That's what you will be using."

Maya hummed in acknowledgement as she walked around the wing, running her hands across the metallic surfaces, she flinched when she actually felt it.

"These are some of the most advanced virtual reality simulators in the world," Alden said, his hands drumming on one of the missiles hanging from the aircraft's wing. "They can send artificial signals to your nervous system. You can't the only way you can tell you're in a simulator is that the air is different, other than that you can hear, smell and feel everything."

He led Maya to the front of the aircraft again, and invited her to climb a ladder leading up to the cockpit. When she reached the tip she was standing on a yellow platform beside the craft looking into the cockpit. Within seconds Alden was standing next to her.

"The back seat is for the gunner," Alden explained, "Go on, hop in." Maya reached her leg out and placed in in the small footwell, before bringing her other foot to join it. She lowered herself into the chair and got herself comfy, reaching out behind her and pulling on her tail so it rested over her legs. She examined the cockpit, most things were black, save for a few brightly coloured buttons and the very dark green of switched off monitors.

Alden crouched down so he was more level with her. He quickly looked up and he could see Nite in a very similar position to himself. He waved across the deck and saw the small flicker of her hand in a return gesture. He turned his attention back to the very confused Maya looking at the buttons and switches presented before her.

"Right you want to flick those two switches," He said referring to two red icons on her left. She followed his instructions. "And then push that button by your right knee. The cockpit seemed to hum as the screens flickered to life and lights behind buttons illuminated, showing up in constellations of greens, blues, reds and yellows.

In the central screen which dominated most of the cockpit was a camera view pointing towards the front of the aircraft.

"Press that button," Alden said pointing below the screen. Maya did and a metallic clunking sound could be heard from behind her. She shuffled to turn around in her see to see the boxy structure had risen up slightly to reveal and anti-aircraft gun mounted within.

"You use those handles to turn it. Alden said pointing to two vertical sticks, just below the main view screen.

She tried moving the sticks and the turret swivelled one way and then she brought it back to the central position.

"You pull and push them to move it up and down," Alden added.

"And I assume these fire it?" Maya said gesturing to the triggers. She tried pulling them but nothing happened.

"Safety's on, and I won't tell you what it is until we're up in the air," Alden said.

"You're no fun…" She sulked.

"Did you even check the crosshairs?"

She looked at the screen, right in the middle was a mechanic fixing a new armour plate onto the aircraft, and he smiled in thanks to Alden.

"_That_ is why I won't tell you how to take the safety's off. At this rate, we're just as likely to shoot Nite and Aegan down as anyone else."

"If I was up there I would hit you."

"I know, that's why I'm saying it whilst you're down there."

The lead technician came round to the bottom of the ladder.

"We've just got to refuel her and then you're good to go!" He called up

"Thanks!" Alden shouted back. "Right let's see how this goes."

He reached behind Maya and unhooked a helmet sitting just above her head. He pulled its straps away and handed it to Maya.

"Put this on." She took it and rammed onto her head and clipped it by her neck.

Alden clambered into the seat in front of her. His hands were a blur as he flicked switches and pushed buttons as his screens whirred to life. He too grabbed the helmet behind him and swiftly clipped it on. He looked on his left. Aegan and Nite were already sorted out. The technician team had evacuated away from the aircraft, pulling the fuel pump with them.

Nite flashed them a thumbs up before flicking up a switch and pressing the button. The calm air was shattered by its engines spooling up.

They heard a crackling in their headsets.

"We'll see you up there!" Nite's voice said through the speakers. Their aircraft began to taxi out onto the runway and clipped onto the catapult.

Alden could see their own technician team moving away pulling the fuel pump with them. A woman jogged in front of their aircraft in a bright orange jumpsuit holding up two orange glowing sticks.

Alden held his thumb up over the cockpit before jamming a button and the hardened windshield slid shut above them, drastically muffling the noise of all the other aircraft's engines firing up. He then flicked up the safety switch and thumbed the button which said "engine start" on it. They felt the craft shudder and a small whine which soon lifted into a roar as the engines kicked in. They could see another flight conductor pull their sticks down and the catapult fired, slinging Nite and Aegan off the runway and into the air.

Their conductor held one stick to the left and swung the other one in the same direction several times. Alden opened up the throttle a little bit and the aircraft began to move and swivel to the left.

"Okay, we're up. I'll circle overhead until you get up here." Nite said.

"Right, we're second in the queue so we'll be a minute," Alden said. Eyeing another aircraft that was being loaded onto the catapult.

Maya nervously shuffled in her seat. Fighting on the ground was her element, she didn't know what it was like to fly in anything that wasn't an airship. She winced as the noise from the engines of the aircraft in front went to full throttle and it too was lobbed off the deck.

Thankfully Alden seemed to know what he was doing and he masterfully manoeuvred the aircraft into position and they heard a "click" as the catapult locked on to them.

"How many times have you done this?" she asked as they waited for the conductor to give them the all-clear.

"Hundreds, maybe even in the early thousands by now."

The conductor raised both batons and swirled one around in a circle.

"Ram yourself back against the seat, otherwise take off is going to be rather uncomfortable," Alden said as he shuffle back, nestling himself against the headrest.

"How bad can it ser…" Maya was cut off as the batons dropped and the aircraft was lobbed at tremendous speed off the deck. Thankfully she heeded his advice and had already pushed herself back, but the G-forces alone were incredible.

"That bad," Alden said, he guided the nose up but shuffled around to look back at her. "You Ok?"

"M' good." She said as she unpeeled herself from the seat.

Alden laughed, "Everyone is taken by surprise on their first run, trust me, you've faired really well to most." He flicked a switch, "Nite, how's Aegan?" He was met with a groan from Aegan and the cackle of Nite's laughter.

He flicked his eyes back, "See?"

Alden leveled out and Maya noticed that her body had been subconsciously telling her she should be falling, considering the angle of her back and the gravity pulling at them. Alden guided them towards a small speck in the sky, which soon expanded to reveal another aircraft similar to them. Pulling up alongside them Maya could recognise the braided blonde strand of Nite's hair sticking out from below her helmet.

"Umm Alden? Aren't you getting a little close?" Nite said eyeing the distance between their wings.

"What? We were just popping over for a chat." Alden replied

"Not that close! You'll take us both out!"

Alden tilted to the right ever so slightly, and they slowly drifted away.

"Jeez, stop panicking I wasn't going to crash."

Maya looked to her right and down at the carrier below them, two tiny specks were circling above it and she could see another being launched off the deck.

"So, what do we do now?" Maya asked.

"We wait for everyone else to launch." Nite said, "Luckily the room was quiet so we'll only be doing a smaller mission, which is better for learning how the game works."

They circled lower and Maya nearly had a panic attack when she saw the white foam from their own wash as Alden only flew a dozen feet above the surface of the ocean. Nite hovered above them following along as they headed back towards the carrier.

Once all the aircraft had launched, Maya's screen flashed, she looked down to see a radar display and thirteen blips heading towards the carrier in an arrow formation.

"Umm…"

"I see them," Alden said looking out the windshield to their left, thirteen black shapes were racing towards them at an incredible speed.

Maya pressed the button b below her screen and she felt the craft vibrate as the turret deployed. She flexed her hands several times over the controls. Alden pressed one of the holographic symbols and flicked it back towards Maya, suddenly her HUD was filled with tracking data and a small leading Icon appeared in front of the first enemy.

"That's handy." She said as she tried to align the targeting reticle up.

"You'll get used to the controls at so…" he was cut off as cannon fire whizzed past the windshield. Alden cursed and slammed the aircraft to the right corkscrewing over the incoming fire. Maya hunched down into her seat and stared intently at her screen. She tried to follow the tracker but everyone had clashed in the middle and were circling like a swarm of bees.

Seeing the Dilemma Alden Yanked back and they shot high into the air. Once they were nearly a kilometer above the others he cut the throttle and they began to stall. Maya felt slightly motion sick as she began to feel gravity catch hold and they began to flip over falling back into the swarm of flashes below.

Now able to make out her targets Maya grinned as she manoeuvred the turret and pulled the trigger. Their aircraft shuddered as the turret above them began firing, blue streaks racing towards the enemies. A small burst of orange could be seen as well as several bright red shards as one of the aircraft shattered and its debris fluttered down to the ocean surface.

Maya quickly reacquired and managed to bring two more down before they reached the swarm. Alden pulled up at the last second and they shot across the ocean's surface. A vibrating behind them signaled they were being followed by two enemy aircraft. Maya twisted the sticks and the turret swivelled to face behind them.

Alden had to corkscrew away to avoid being hit, which through Maya off her aim.

"Keep it still!" She called, squinting as she fired a few blind shots, all missing and they splashed into the ocean.

"I can't! They'll hit us before we can get them!" Alden replied, pulling them into a loop to try and get onto their tail.

"Hang on you two, we're coming!" Nite's voice came over the radio. Maya looked up and saw the looming figure of Nite's and Aegan's Javelin racing down towards them, letting off a stream of blue bolts which caught the wing of one and sent it crashing into the ocean and detonated the second, they then proceeded to fly through its debris like grey confetti.

Note formed up on their wing and they circled higher, letting the rest of their team get the rest of kills as they already had an unfair kill tally.

Over the next few minutes, they would occasionally see a fireball as someone was shot down. They even received a notification that a friendly was shot down. Alden winced, they were either too confident or a new pilot as no one should be shot down on the first round.

Soon the skies were clear and they circled above the carrier with the seven remaining friendlies.

"That wasn't too bad," Aegan said.

"That was only the first the first round." Nite remarked, "Keep an eye on the radar." She looked out her cockpit at Alden and Maya twirling above them. "How's your first go Maya?"

"It's really fun actually!" She said leaning back in her chair and looking up at the ocean as Alden did a celebratory flip and curved into a few victory rolls.

Aegan looked down at his screen as it began flashing, "fifteen new signals, coming from the South, heading directly towards us."

Alden stuck his Javelin on its tail and floored the throttle, pushing them back over upside down before rocketing off towards the newcomers, everyone following close behind.

When soon, several very large grey shapes formed on the horizon, and they kept getting bigger as they approached. So big that Maya just stared at the huge flying fortresses. They were a quarter the size of an airship but filled to the brim with high explosives.

Soon the air was filled with explosions as flak guns along the bombers opened up. Two friendly aircraft instantly melted and Alden winced when the very tip of their tailfin was chipped off before pulling into a steep dive to try and avoid the tracking sensors.

"How do we deal with these?" Maya asked as she swivelled the turret to face behind, destroying an enemy escort that chased them down.

"Well, luckily there are only three of them," Alden said, pulling up before he hit the surface.

"_Only_ three?" Maya said as she shot another escort down. "They're moving too fast, they'll destroy the carrier before we have a chance to even bring one down."

Alden kept the Javelin steady for a few minutes as he observed the three giant bombers. He suddenly yanked them up and they shot higher into the sky, occasionally rolling off to the side to avoid a stream of flak rounds.

"Nite, What do you think would happen if we destroyed the left… no, the right engine bank of the top bomber?"

"Umm… Well, it could… wait do you seriously?"

"It's worth a shot."

"I suppose it is, hang on, we're right behind you."

Maya swivelled her turret around and she managed to glimpse a small grey shape rocket across the ocean surface before pulling up into a steep climb just below them.

"Maya, forwards!" Aden called. Maya pulled the turret around to see two more escorts bearing down on them. A few blue streaks shot past the from behind as slammed into the cockpit of one and it spun out of control.

"Nice shot Aegan!" Nite said as their Javelin pulled up alongside Alden and Maya. The other escort veered off to avoid being hit. Maya and Aegan zeroed in on the four large jet engines on the right-wing to the highest bomber. Blue streaks fired and small speckles of fire rippled across the bombers surface. One seemed to penetrate through and a large explosion ripped through the engine bank, nearly ripping the wing off.

It slowed slightly before it began to fall out the sky. Alden and Nite flew along its top surface, jinking to avoid any flak fire as the bomber began to fall.

"Well that's one but there's no way we can get the other two…" She stopped mid-sentence as she saw the bomber careen into a second one, smashing them both into a large heavy metallic pulp.

"Ok well, there's no way we're going to be able to destroy the last one." She corrected herself. As she watched the last bomber slowly open its bomb bay, the carrier only a few kilometers away.

"Maybe…" Alden said, "Maya turn the turret backwards and keep it there.

"But why it's…"

"Just do it!" Alden said and slammed the throttle, racing down towards the last bomber. He knifed the Javelin on its side as nearly scraped the bottom against the side of the bomber.

He then flipped over its wing and straight down its front, diving straight towards the ocean. But as Maya looked at her screen she saw she had a direct line of sight straight into the belly of the beast.

She pulled the triggers and six blue bolts raced into the bomb bay. Alden pulled up and they bounced off the crest of a wave just below the carrier's stern. The Javelin bounced but the engines had cut out, causing it to belly flop on the landing deck and skid across its surface. Several of the deck crew scuttled their way out of the aircraft's path as it slowly skidded to a halt.

Alden quickly jammed the windshield button which slid back, Alden and Maya stood up and looked behind them to see several ripples bulge out across the bomber as its hull buckled before it shattered in a massive explosion, and they had to shield their eyes from the light.

Once it had dimmed the crew of the Oberon erupted into cheer and applause at the sight of the wreckage of the last bomber. Nite flew lower to the ocean and victory rolled over the top of the carrier.

Alden and Maya clambered out of the carrier and jumped down onto the deck, smiling at their hard work. Alden could see the lead technician approaching them from the side.

"Well, you must be a huntsman in training to attempt something _that_ stupid." He said smiling as he crossed his arms.

Alden smiled sheepishly. "Guilty as charged."

The technician chuckled to himself. "If a may ask, what academy?"

"Beacon."

"ahh, my daughter is due to arrive in Vale today." He said as the first of the remaining aircraft landed, being yanked to a stop by the catch cable. "I'll be flying over myself in a few weeks' time, got to watch my girl's big match."

"Well, we wish her luck," Maya said smiling.

Nite and Aegan came strolling over once they had landed and their aircraft had been pulled into place.

"Those were some moves Alden!" Nite said beaming "I even took the video feed from Aegan's turret when you took out that last bomber, it looked like it came straight from an action movie!" She then looked at Maya "And good shooting you, I've got a feeling you're a natural."

Maya blushed slightly at the compliment and her tail twitched slightly.

Nite stretched her arms above her head. "Well I'm feeling nice and refreshed, so I'm ready to get back to work on revision… actually scrap that, no I'm not."

Maya laughed, "we don't have to do any more today."

"Oh thank the gods."

"So how do we leave… here?" Aegan asked looking around the carrier.

"You just drag a hand down your arm."

"Really?" Maya asked.

Alden just nodded and rubbed his arm with his hand and suddenly he vanished. Maya tried doing the same as suddenly the carrier slowly slipped from her vision, being replaced by the dark room of the arcade as the holographic projectors turned off. She shook her head to get her bearings back.

"Well, how was that for your first game?" Alden asked Maya and Aegan.

"That was really fun!" Aegan said.

"How did any of that work?" Maya asked.

"Those projectors," Alden explained pointing up at a few devices on the ceiling, "They follow us about when we were walking around the carrier, so the deck was this room. The aircraft are these pods you see around. When we were flying we were actually sitting in them.

"Really? But…"

"It takes a while to get used to it."

Maya scratched the bridge of her nose, "I bet."

They walked over to a counter and Alden paid the man behind it for the game and they walked out into the main arcade. It had got busier since they entered and now it was difficult to move around.

"If you get separated, just head for the exit!" Alden called over the constant thrumming of voices and noise.

They finally managed to break their way through the crowds and out into the open air. The square outside the arcade had also got busier due to it being midday and everyone was out for their lunch breaks. They quickly fund a bench and they all sat down next to the large fountain that dominated the square.

"Well, we'll have to do that again." Maya said "That was fun,"

"I'm up for that Aegan said."

They relaxed for a few minutes, soaking up the sunshine as they had been cooped up in a dark building for an hour or two.

Aegan stretched his arms over his head and yawned, "|didn't know that that could take that much out of you."

Nite nodded "It requires a lot of attention to not get shot down."

"How do you even learn to fly without crashing instantly on that thing?" Maya asked.

"There's a spare pod in the corner of the room dedicated for people learning to fly." Alden answered, "I spent hours in that thing."

Maya made a mental note to go and try it out in over the next few days, maybe she could get Note or Alden to teach her?

She was distracted when she heard her scroll ringing in her pocket. She took it out and pulled it open to reveal the smiling face of an older man, with darker hair and facial hair running down the sides of his face to just off his chin. She felt a pleasant surprise, he hadn't called her in a while.

She clicked the answer button and held it up to her ear.

"Hey! Tukson! How are you doing?" She said.

"Maya." Came his reply, absent of the usual carefree attitude he had. Maya felt all the pleasantness drain away.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I don't think it's safe to talk over a call, can you meet me at my shop as soon as you can?"

"Sure I can… is it about… you know?" She could see the others tense up when she started speaking vaguely and were staring at her to try and get a read on the situation.

"Yeah… it is… and soon, so I need to speak with you."

"Yep I'm on my way," Maya said as she stood up and the rest of her team followed still confused as to what was going on.

"Have you told Mike and Jack?" she asked.

"I was just about to… Wait there are some people heading to my shop." He suddenly deadpanned.

Maya started to jog through the streets. "Are they customers?"

"Don't know, one of them is armed, looks like a student huntress. I'll have to put you on hold."

Maya heard rustling like Tukson had put his scroll in his pocket but he hadn't ended the call so Maya began listening as she dodged various crowds in the streets. She flicked her attention backwards for a second: three pairs of footsteps close behind her.

She heard humming through her scroll and nudging noises which sounded like books being moved. She heard a door being opened, and a few seconds later the desk bell being dinged.

"Be right there!"

He huffed slightly as he picked something heavy up, a few footsteps and then the sound of another set of doors being opened.

"Welcome to Tukson's book trade! Home to every book under the sun!" and then a clonk as the heavy object was put down.

"How may I- uh… How may I help you?"

"Just browsing." A voice came, more distant, definitely Young, definitely in and around her own age and male. Then the sound of a book being snapped shut.

"Actually… I was wondering." This one female, but of a similar age to the other. "Do you have any copies of the thief and the butcher?"

"Yes, we do."

"That's great!"

"Would you… like a copy?"

"No… just wondering." And then the sound of another book being shut. Maya felt her hackles rise and he tail fold up along her back as she sped up slightly, she didn't like this.

"Oh! Oh! What about Violet's garden, in paperback?"

"He's got it." Came the male voice, "Hardback too."

"Ooh, options are nice."

"Ehh, no pictures." And the sound of another book being slammed shut. "Hey! Do you have any comics?"

"Near the front." Tucson replied, annoyance laced in his voice.

"Oh! No, wait." Came me the female voice. "What about third crusade…?"

"Umm… I…" Maya could feel herself sped up even more as she started drawing a mental map along the fastest way to Tukson's shop. It was a left along Bridge Street here, and cut across Mall lane, over the bridge at Hook's corner and then right to Riggorot lane.

"Don't believe we carry that one." Another book being slammed.

"Oh."

"What was this place called again?"

"Tukson's book trade."

"And… You're Tukson?"

"That's right."

"So I take it that you're the one that came up with the catchphrase?"

"Yes."

"And, what was it again?"

She could hear Tukson sigh.

"Tukson's book trade: home to every book under the sun."

"Except for the third crusade."

"It's just a catchphrase."

"It's false advertising!"

"You shouldn't keep a promise you can't keep, Tukson... I hear you're planning on leaving." This was accompanied by the hum of the lights being turned down and the window's opaque. Maya felt her blood run cold.

"Moving _all_ the way to Vacuo." _Oh Shit…_

"Your brother's in the White Fang wouldn't be happy to hear that, and neither are we. You know who we are don't you?"

"Yes."

"And… you know why we're here?"

"Yes." Tukson nearly growled.

Maya felt worry begin to bubble up, she really hoped she was misunderstanding the situation but Tukson had no proper combat training.

She could hear the footsteps of the male approach.

"So… Are you going to fight back?" Every alarm bell began ringing in Maya's head as she pushed herself even faster, hoping the others were still on her metaphorical tail.

There was a pause and then:

"Yes!" She heard the _Schlink _noise of his clause unfurling and the noise of boots on wood.

She hung up and stuffed her scroll in her pocket and pushed herself at a full sprint, the buildings blurring by.

_Come on, come on… It's only two roads away…_

* * *

**AN: Just so you all know, I took a few weeks off as a break, didn't want to burn out. However this chapter was slowly pieced together during that time, I wanted to do something fun with MANA as the last few chapters were pretty serious, so I hope you liked this little experiment.**

**I was starting to worry after reading reviews of other stories that tell their respective authors that they are essentially retelling the same story, just from a different perspective. Hopefully, you can tell by now this is not my goal. I'm trying to make this story _feasible_ so it could theoretically exist within the same exact universe. but with an entirely new storyline that will be focusing on a shadow war of the internal politics of Vale and the White Fang all whilst linking back to the main story to keep it interesting and a sense of scale.**

**Hopefully, you enjoyed this one, next chapter we'll dive deeper into the death of Tukson.**

**Until then!**

**Etherway**


	13. Vol 2 Ch 2: Five O

Vol2 Ch: 2 Five O

The shop was dark, quiet and eerie. Maya didn't like it one bit. Her Faunus eyes quickly snapped into focus in the dim light and she could easily make out the collapsed bookshelves, their contents scattered across the floor. There were slashes across the walls and the counter had been smashed to splinters.

The only thing that moved were the small specks of dust floating around, softly glinting in what light was let through the window. The only noise was the soft thudding of their boots on the wooden floor.

As Alden looked around, blindly trying to see where he was going. His thoughts kept falling back to the small orange fleck of Maya's hair. She was laughing with them out by the fountain, and then when she answered the call, she just… took off, ignoring the rest of her team's calls for her to explain what the hell was going on.

Looking around at what he could see of the destroyed shop he began to wander just what they were blindly stumbling into…

It turned out to be a collapsed pile of books actually, and he couldn't right himself in time and went tumbling to the floor

Maya heard a crash behind her, instantly her sword folded out and was pointing at the offending disturbance.

Alden had gone cross eyed, looking down at the tip of the blade resting against his nose. Very slowly he reached up and pushed it aside. As he got back to his feet, he activated the dust in his clothing, filling the room with a soft purple glow. He looked at Maya. Her eyes were wild and twitching.

"Sorry…" She muttered, not being able to hold his gaze.

"Maya, what is going on?"

She ignored him and set off into the darker corners of the shop, pushing up bookshelves and checking underneath them. The others stood stunned by the door, watching her frantic search.

Alden shook his head and sighed before joining in. He didn't know what he was looking for but at least he could safely assume it wasn't a book. He thought back, Maya was on the phone with someone, and she sounded panicked. Chances our they were looking for a _someone_ not a _something_.

Several minutes later they still hadn't found anything, all the bookshelves had been turned over, the book piles moved, every shadow checked.

Every now and again, Alden would look back at Maya as she turned another bookshelf over, her tail was ridged and pressed against her back, betraying her façade of being cool and in control of whatever was going through her head.

Not having a dog of his own he was sceptical when Yang told him that if you live with animals like dogs and cats that communicate with body language over sound, you can start to pick up on a few things: how tense they were and the movement of their tails and ears.

After living with Maya and Aegan with a few months he believed her

Faunus may be able to see in the dark, be more agile and in a lot of cases: better fighters. But they can't hide their emotions like humans do. Faunus' like Aegan, Blake and Velvet it's about the ears and how far they are raised or lowered. Maya was more complicated because there were more combinations: raised, lowered, straight out or curled. Ridged, twitching, swaying (or hitting him round the back of the head, she had started doing that more, which he _totally_ considered cheating.)

His chain of thought was broken when he looked at the door leading into the back, the hinges were deformed and pulled slightly from their housing, like they had been put under enormous stress and then slammed shut.

He tried to open the door, but to no avail. Jammed. He stepped back and closed his eyes, he felt the familiar rush of energy before opening them again.

The back room was far more intact than the main shop floor. Huge storage shelves leading far into the murky blackness was filled with thousands of books.

He looked behind him to see if there was a light switch. Just by the door there was a small black panel. He headed towards it, double checking the floor to make sure he didn't fall again. He dragged a finger up on the panel and the warehouse lit up.

The warehouse was massive, the shelves pushing in twice as far as he could see in the dark. He turned right and walked a little way down, checking each row of shelves for anything suspicious. Each row he checked there was nothing but meticulously ordered books.

He reached the end of the isle, nothing out of place, not even a scuff along the paint on the walls. He turned around and headed in the other direction.

As he was nearing the other side, he heard a crunching noise coming from behind him. He turned to see the door collapse, Nite walked through the gap, followed by Aegan. Nite was looking especially pleased with herself, Alden rolled his eyes but kept walking. He suddenly slipped, but this time was able to keep upright. He looked down:

Blood.

A lot of it.

He looked right, the was a large trail, barley sticking outside of the row of shelves which was why he hadn't seen it sooner. It led all the way down the aisle.

Aegan saw the trail too and dragged Nite at a jog towards him. Alden crept down the aisle, carful not to step in the crimson trail. As he got towards the other side, he felt his nervousness overpowered him and he clenched his fists as his gauntlets deployed the blade glinting in the light reflecting off the metal shelves. Nite and Aegan followed suit.

As he reached the end, he rounded the corner and the trail ended. Lying before him in a small lake of blood was a man. Alden spared a look around, the coast looked clear, the blades folded back in, but the gauntlets did not retract.

He crouched down at the edge of the stain to get a better look.

He was middle aged, with well kept facial hair. He was waring a simple brown shirt and blue leggings. What caught Alden's attention was the claws sticking from his hands. So, he was a Faunus. Splatted across his arms and faces were large bruises, and wooden splinters were sticking from his clothes. A giant angry red hole coming from his chest was the cause of all the blood and would have been the cause of death if it wasn't for the bullet hole in his forehead. He was mortally wounded, crawled all this way here just to be shot at point blank range. Alden sighed.

"Get Maya." He said, Nite ran off back down the aisle.

Aegan went to turn one of the man's wrists over, but Alden intercepted his arm and shook his head.

"Don't disturb anything, we don't want to incriminate ourselves."

Aegan nodded, "Yeah, you're right." He said as he retracted his arm.

He heard running footsteps approaching them. Maya skidded around the corner, closely followed by Nite.

She slowly approached them. Before stopping by the man's head, she stared down at him. Alden looked up; he could see a single tear form at her eye, but she immediately wiped it away. She took a big sigh.

"I didn't make it in time…" She said quietly to no one in particular.

Alden slowly got up.

"I think now, would be a very good time to tell us what's going on Maya…"

She didn't seem to be listening and she turned away, slowly walking away- lost in thought.

Alden turned back to the others,

"Call the police."

Nite looked up "are you sure? everything seems off, especially with Maya."

Alden shook his head, "Not worth it, the police will eventually find out we were here, and it'll just look like we did it."

"Alright, on it." Nite said as she pulled out her scroll.

Alden caught up with Maya, putting a hand on her shoulder, she flinched and spun round. But it seemed to do its trick and her eyes seemed to snap back into focus.

"There you are." Alden said with a small grin. She tried to reciprocate the gesture, but it came out as more of a grimace. She leaned up against one of the shelves and took a few breaths, before turning her back to the body. A steely expression fell on her face as she blocked out her emotions.

"His name is Tukson." She said, "Family friend, known him all my life."

Alden nodded and waited for her to continue.

"He is…" She sighed "Was, a member of the white fang. He was able to keep his… parts concealed, so no one knew he was a Faunus. Allowed him to easily find targets, no one suspected him."

She looked back, but quickly averted her gaze. "He got sick of it, hated the harm he was causing. So, he was going to leave to Vacuo, leave it all behind. But he was too useful, and probably knew too much. The white fang can't afford him spreading news about them."

She sighed again, "I can't believe they would kill him…"

Aegan walked in from the entrance followed by several uniformed individuals.

"Cops are here guys." He said as a few of the policemen unreeled police tape over the windows of the shop.

He was shadowed by a individual who stood out from the rest, wearing the light blue of the police uniform but with a pair of sunglasses resting on top of his head and a massive gun strapped to his back. Wait a minute…

"Dannis?" Alden asked. The man's eyes pivoted to rest on him.

"Alden?" He said in a very deep voice, "What are you doing here?" He said as he approached. Alden met him halfway and got himself crushed in the man's embrace.

"Nothing pleasant I'm afraid." Alden answered leading him to the body.

He turned to the rest of team MANA and pulled out a badge. "Chief inspector Dannis Larson, VPD"

He then crouched by the corpse of Tukson and let out a dark affirming hum.

"No normal criminal did this…" He said as he examined the body.

"How do you know that?" Nite asked.

He used a pen to point out the large gaping wound in his chest. "The blade was large and curved. You can't just buy those types of blades at the shops… they're made. At huntsman academies."

Alden and Maya shared a glance, this meant that the white fang had huntsman in their midst. No wonder they were so dangerous.

Dannis stood up, towering over the rest of them, he looked to two of the officers "Tarry, Diver. Bag and tag and arrange transport for the body."

They nodded and slowly stepped around them before beginning to take pictures of the scene.

Dannis started heading for the door to the front, "come on, we need to have a chat in private."

MANA followed on, back amongst the scattered books, but there was no one else in here.

Dannis stopped and looked out the window at the passer-by's, some giving curious glances at the shop.

"That man was killed by a hunter" he said turning to face them. "I seem to be standing in front of four."

Maya, Nite and Aegan tensed up at the accusation, Maya instantly stepped up to defend her team.

"Hang on… you're not ser…" She was interrupted by Dannis raising his hand.

"I don't think it was you." He finished "Though I'm putting a lot of trust in you because you're with Alden." He said gesturing. "So, I assume one of you know Tukson?"

Maya nodded, "Known him all my life."

"Any idea who might have done this?"

Maya was silent for a second before shaking her head.

"The white fang." Alden said.

The rest of MANA stared at him with wide eyes.

"_What the hell do you think you're doing!?"_ Maya hissed.

"Dannis was on my dad's team, and he's my godfather. If we can't trust him, then we can't trust anybody." Alden replied, "Trust me, he's good."

Maya didn't know what to do. She didn't trust this man, but Alden was vouching heavily for him. And he was one of the highest-ranking members of the police force, if she didn't give a very good reason as to why they were there, then it would only make it look like they did it.

She sighed, shaking her head.

"He was running to vacuo; I was on the phone to him twenty minutes ago. He was telling me he was leaving, but then I heard two voices that mentioned "Brothers in the white fang" Then there was sounds of fighting and then…" She gestured vaguely with her arm back to the storehouse.

Dannis nodded. "You said he was running, was this public knowledge?"

Maya shook her head. "No, the only people who knew where me and…" She trailed off as all the blood seemed to drain from her face, her tail nervously coiled around her leg.

"Oh gods…" She whispered before racing out the shop in a blur.

"Well…" Alden said. "it's definitely not her. Be back in a sec, Aegan, Nite, stay here." He then blinked, appearing on the rooftop of Tukson's. He looked down at the Street, he just saw a glimpse of Maya's tail disappearing around another building. He blinked to the other side of the street and began his pursuit form the rooftops.

He had to keep sprinting flat out to keep up with her. He would often slip and would have to blink back up to keep going. She made several turns and sprinted across roads, without looking if they were clear, and Alden was forced to blink several times across different streets. With no shelter form the raging sun above, he began to get hot very quickly, but he pushed on.

He could see that she had pulled out her scroll and was speaking to someone, but he didn't know who. His skin felt like it was on fire and he hoped she would stop soon; he couldn't keep this up forever. Up ahead he could see Ferendale Park, the one where team MANA had toasted its formation. It would make the perfect indiscriminate meeting spot…

He blinked down to the street, startling several people as he suddenly appeared on the edge of the park. He kept his distance from Maya who had slowed to a walk as she entered the park. She was looking around herself constantly, either looking for someone, or checking she hadn't been followed, probably both.

Her eyes locked one two individuals sitting on a bench in an unoccupied corner of the park, she jogged towards them. Alden followed, as he got closer, he recognised them, Mike and Jack Aletha- Maya's brothers. Satisfied that she would be alright dealing with her own flesh and blood, he rested against a tree, well out of earshot. He was respectful of her privacy, and didn't want to violate her trust by hiding, so he just watched from a distance, but in plain sight.

As Maya got closer, she tried to catch her breath and slow her heart. The prospect of what was running through her head was almost too much, but she had to confront them, just in case…

Her brothers stood up when she got to them, Jack pulled her into a quick greeting hug before pushing her back to an arm's length, holding onto her shoulders.

"Maya, what's going on?" He said, worry creasing his brow.

She took a deep breath. "Tukson is dead." She said.

"What!?"

She nodded, "by two members of the white fang, they knew he was running…"

Mike gave a sad huff, "I'm not surprised they killed him, he was too dangerous."

Maya snapped

"But we were the only ones who knew!" She hissed, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. "And yet somehow, the white fang "Mysteriously" found out and then killed him! So, gods help me guys _Did. You. Tell. Them?"_

Mike looked surprised; Jack looked slightly offended.

"Of course not!" They both said simultaneously.

"Tukson was a friend, I didn't agree with him running away from it all. But I would _never_ misplace his trust in us."

Maya slowly nodded and sighed, "Ok"

Jack looked like he was about to say something, but then he was looking at something over her shoulder and said: "Do you know you were followed?"

Maya was shocked, "what do you mean? "she asked turning to look. She saw Alden leaning up against a tree and observing them from a distance.

She sighed again, "I should have guessed that to be honest." Alden gave a small wave; she returned the gesture before turning back to her brothers.

"Oh. Him." Mike said "Are you sure you want him there? I could make him leave…"

"He's fine Mike, you probably wouldn't be able to make him leave anyway."

"Are you suggesting he could beat me!?"

"I could."

Jack laughed

"She's right." He then turned to Maya, "But seriously Maz' we didn't tell anyone about it."

Maya huffed, "right, if it wasn't us, that means someone else found out, who is linked to the white fang. I've just got to find out who…"

"Why don't let the police deal with it?"

"Because our friend was just murdered!" she growled

"And by taking the law into your own hands, you'll be accomplishing what?"

"There have been some… really strange things happening recently, I can't help but felt that this is connected. So far going to the _responsible_ people has only led to us being told to wait. I'm not waiting this time, not with Tukson."

"Just… Be careful Maz, Ok?"

Maya nodded "I will…" She jabbed her thumb over her back. "I've got to get back, there's a lot of work to do."

She hugged her brothers once more, before turning back and started walking, leaving with an extra wave over her shoulder. As she passed the tree Alden matched stride with her.

"You know it's rude to follow people, right?" She said as they approached. The edge of the park.

"You know that when asked "Who else knows?" and then turning pale, saying "oh gods" and then running off in front of a policeman is a _really _bad idea?" Alden retorted.

"Fair point."

Unbeknownst to them, they were being followed…

Eryel watched the pair leave the park, heading back the way they came from. _Perfect._ She lifted her scroll to her ear:

"You there? Good. They're on they're way. Get ready to proceed with the plan." She waited for a response and then seemingly vanished into thin air.

Aegan was leaning up against one of the shelves in the storehouse, watching the policeman go about their business as they were examining the scene, a few of them kept sending nervous glances their way. He looked down at Nite who had picked up one of the books and had sat crossed legged on the floor and was reading to pass the time.

"Do you think they're alright? They've been gone for a while now…" Nite said lifting her head from the book.

"They'll be fine." He thought for a second, "Hey do you…"

He was interrupted by Chief inspector Larson, or "Dannis" as Alden referred to as he came around the corner.

"According to his liver temperature, it roughly puts the time of death as around half an hour ago. Which coincides to what you said, which stacks up in your favour."

Aegan gestured to the other policeman with his head, ears flattened. "They don't trust us, do they? I can almost smell it…"

Dannis sighed slightly. "Tukson was killed by a hunter, and with a report of white fang involvement. A trainee hunter team called it with two Faunus in their ranks, one of which has run off. Sadly, I would be more worried if they weren't."

"Then why aren't you?" Nite asked.

"I've known Alden all his life, he surrounds himself with good people, not murderers."

"Sir." A policewoman said walking up to them, giving a nervous glance at Aegan and Nite. "The doc said the victim also had shattered ribs, likely from being smashed through the door. There was no way he was fighting back by the end; the killer was taking their time with them."

"So, they are a sicko too. Just great… thanks Diver. Has everything been bagged?" Diver nodded.

"Great," then load up the body and get it back to the station for autopsy. She turned and headed back to the other policemen and they loaded the body onto a stretcher and started pushing the body towards the front of the shop.

Dannis turned back to them. "You'll need to come with us, so we can take a statement."

Aegan nodded "Fair enough."

They left the shop and Aegan was grateful to have fresh air fill his nose, death had a stench which Aegan hoped never to smell again.

Outside there were several cars and vans which had brought all the police to the shop, Dannis led them over to an unmarked car at the front. Just as they were about to get in Several vans screeched around the corner.

Aegan's ears pricked up when he heard a soft "tink, tink t-t-t-tink" of something small and metal rolled across the ground. They didn't have time to react before the car exploded, throwing them back against the pavement, as black smoke plumed into the sky.

Nite groggily got up to her feet as the backs of the vans opened and several people wearing black masks and hoods jumped out, all of them were armed. She didn't have time to let the déjà vu wash over her, as several of them took aim at her and Aegan shaking his head as he tried to get up.

Her barrier formed, red with black stripes circling though it as the masked men opened fire, harmlessly being absorbed by her shield. The police drew their weapons and returned fire, trying to find cover. She pulled Aegan to his feet and they ran to the stone outcropping of Tukson's shop. She dropped her shield as they got into cover and she peeked round to assess their situation:

Including Dannis there were six policemen in total, also there was herself and Aegan. There were at least twenty masked assailants. However, Dannis was a fully trained huntsman plus herself and Aegan were trainees it should level the playing field. They were outnumbered by more than two to one.

She had to duck back down as a bullet pinked off their cover.

Two consecutive binging noises sounded from their pockets. Aegan pulled out his scroll and saw it was a team group call: he pressed the "answer" button and was greeted with Alden's and Maya's faces.

"We're on our way back, everything is fine our end." Alden said.

"Please tell me the smoke we see wasn't caused by you two…" Maya added.

"Umm…" Aegan replied and then poked his scroll around the corner so they could see what was going on.

"What did you do!?" Maya said as they took off into a sprint.

"Just get here!" Aegan replied before cutting the call.

The attackers were being pretty… Liberal with their aiming, Nite was scared that they could hit the fleeing civilians on the street. But she couldn't worry as one of the attackers had umped around the corner and had a clear shot at them. Before she could really think her whipsword deployed and had intercepted the bullet, it then proceeded to wrap around his arm, and she _yanked_ pulling him towards her as she sent her fist flying.

With a loud _crack!_ Her fist punched through his arura and snapped his jaw, sending him crumbling to the floor. The blade shrank into its sword form as she twirled onto her second assailant and slashed across his legs, sending him screaming to the floor.

Dannis had unslung the massive gun on his back and took aim. With a white flash it fired, hitting one of the attackers and slammed them into van causing a giant dent in its side.

Nite ducked under the swing of another attacker, armed with a polearm, but they were gunned down by Aegan, his pistols switched to their dagger form as he intercepted another attack and disarmed them, before activating a small electric dust capsule which turned his weapons to behave like a taser and shocked them. They stuttered to the floor. Aegan grabbed them by the hood and dragged them behind the police lines.

One of the attackers pulled out a rocket launcher from the back of a van and aimed it at the police transport which contained Tukson's body. With a massive smoke trail, the projectile streaked towards them. Nite dive in front and reformed her shield. As the rocket detonated leaving behind a cloud of smoke.

"Nite?" Aegan called, he couldn't see if her shield came up in time. He sprinted into the smoke. _Come on, come on!_ He thought as he looked blindly around for her.

He caught sight of her as the smoke began to clear. She was crouched down on the tarmac, her shield was up but cracked. It shimmered and then faded. He slid to the ground in front of her and gave a quick inspection for injuries. He couldn't see any which meant her aura was still intact.

As the smoke cleared completely, he looked up to realise that they weren't near any cover and the remaining attackers were all aiming at them.

Thankfully a familiar purple flash appeared from behind the attackers, distracting them, giving Aegan and Nite a chance to clear out the way.

Alden fired both his gauntlets into the backs of two of the attackers before deploying the blades and charging the third.

Maya vanished and sprinted behind the remaining three. She swiped her glaive out, tripping one up before slamming it into another. She sidestepped as the last one fired blindly trying to hit her even though he couldn't see. She brought her glaive handle around and slammed it into his temple and he collapsed to the floor.

The street went quiet as the gunfire ceased. The attackers laid injured or dead around them. Three of the policemen had been shot during the encounter and several ambulances arrived to look to the wounded.

Alden and Maya jogged to the rest of their team with Dannis who was staring at the electrocuted individual that Aegan had brought back.

"Not the white fang… there was a mixture of Humans and Faunus, mercenaries perhaps?" Dannis pondered having taken off the man's mask and examined it more closely.

"But why attack at all? I don't get it…" Nite said.

"could be about Tukson? Speaking of which where is he?" Maya asked.

"He's in the transport." Dannis said, not looking up.

Maya looked around "What transport?"

"That tra…" Dannis trailed off as he finally lifted his head.

"What?" he looked over his shoulder. "Tally, did you see who was driving the transport?"

He shook his head, "it was there for most of the fight, I didn't see it was gone."

Dannis growled in frustration "Diver, can you get the tracker on it?"

Diver pulled out their scroll and tapped it a few times. She winced as she shifted her bandaged leg the wrong way, a small red blossom of blood seeping through from where a stray bullet clipped her. She shook her head, "Nope, they must have disabled it."

"But how did they get past us?" Aegan asked.

"One of them must have sneaked in from behind us." Nite said.

"But this doesn't add up, who would be willing to sacrifice that many people just to get one body? Isn't that _beyond_ really strange?" Alden asked.

"He's right, but what could be so important about him?" Dannis said, looking at the pluming smoke drifting off into the air from his car. He sighed to himself "guess where going to have to find out ourselves."

They all turned as several more police vehicles turned up all loaded with heavily armed officers to secure the scene and two bullheads circled overhead.

One of the officers ran up to Dannis and the two began engaging in a hushed conversation.

The members of MANA ushered closer to each other.

"So, for the sake of the argument, let's assume that they were not White Fang. How the hell did they know Tukson was A: dead and B: where his body was? I mean if the White Fang killed him, and we were the ones who found him, how the hell did they know to come for him?" Alden began.

"They may be communicating with the White Fang?" Nite suggested.

"Or they ARE the White Fang, just they didn't want to get recognised for the attack." Aegan said.

Maya shook her head, "But they were a mixture of both Humans and Faunus, the White Fang do _not_ work with humans."

"So maybe someone who knows the White Fang, with enough of their own connections to their own thugs?" Alden added.

"Possibly." Maya said.

Dannis stepped back and waved down one of the bullheads. Everyone covered their ears as the loud jets drowned out all other sounds. Dannis opened the door and climbed in and gestured for MANA to do the same.

They clambered and gently let got of their ears as the doors shut and the jet's scream was muffled. They held onto the handholds as it lifted off the ground, followed by the brief weightlessness as the jets swivelled backwards.

"So, without any evidence, there is technically no case." Dannis explained.

"What happens now?" Maya asked.

"Well, first I'm taking you back to beacon." He held his hand up before they could protest. "I'm going to pull some strings to try and find out what's going on. When I find something, I'll get in contact. Chances are you'll try and sneak off to do this by yourselves, so better you come along where I can keep an eye on you, than not knowing how deep in the shit you're getting."

"Why not get the rest of the police involved?" Aegan asked.

"This is going to require a little subtlety."

Alden laughed. "I'm sorry hunters always end up near explosions, not exactly what I would call _subtle_"

"Better than having police sirens tearing about the town." Dannis retorted

"fair enough."

"Oh, and I'll see if Racheal is around, she will want to get involved." Dannis added.

"That would be great! I haven't seen her in a while."

"Racheal?" Maya asked.

"The other member of MORD, my team."

"The other two being Alden's parents, right?" Aegan asked.

Alden nodded.

"Why did team MORD disband?" Nite asked.

"Marcus was stupid and got himself hurt when Mary was tiny. I agreed to be their godfather, but I didn't expect to take on that role _that _quickly."

Alden shook his head and chuckled. "Mum and Dad thankfully believed that all members of the family being alive was more important than the thrill of the hunt, and so they retired. They won't take up arms unless they absolutely have to."

"We'll be at Beacon in a few minutes!" The pilot called from the cockpit

"Got it!" Dannis called back. "Speaking of which, you should probably tell Ozpin what happened today, he's going to want to know some of his students were caught up in that mess."

He was met by a collective "ummm…"

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "what did you do now…?"

"Nothing!" Alden replied, "I just don't think he trusts me."

"Why?"

"Well, when I last tried to tell him something…"

*1 week earlier*

Alden gasped as he shot up, breathing heavily, eyes wide as they darted around the room. They locked onto a few things around him: the window looking put into the forest, the old red sofas, the holo-screen hanging on the wall, the mess of blankets strewn over the floor.

He was home, in his living room. His team was there too, he had invited them over for the weekend before they headed back to Beacon, Yang and Ruby had also been home to visit their dad as well. They had gone into the forest…

_Oh gods…_

The Grimm, Maya's eyes, she just… grabbed him… Then there were more, and Furla…

"_The next nightmare you have, you'll be stabbing a man in the neck. So just a head up."_

_He let out a few strangled gasps for air but couldn't as his windpipe had been cut, and his body slowly relaxed and the life left his eyes._

_"No, please…_

_No._

_No, no…_

_NO!"_

Alden flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder and tore him from his thoughts, he spun round, Tempest rattled out and locked in.

Maya was staring him down, unmoving and undeterred at the fact he just pulled out a weapon at her. He took a deep breath to relax and his gauntlets folded back in. He gave a quick look around the room, Nite and Aegan were still asleep on the floor, but were twisting and turning restlessly. Looks like no one got had got a good night's sleep.

"Come on." She whispered and silently jumped over Aegan and headed through the door into the kitchen. Alden slowly followed.

The kitchen was still dim. Alden looked out the window, the was barley a hint of orange in the sky, the sun had yet to rise.

"Got any flasks in here?" Maya asked.

"um… yeah, in here." He said opening a cupboard by his head and retrieving too. He put them on the side by Maya. Before getting caught looking out the window again, he couldn't' stop staring at the forest, he could see shapes roaming it, occasionally a red eye staring at him.

"Here." Maya said handing him one of the flasks. He looked through the window again… no red eyes.

"Thanks." He said as he accepted the flask. Maya walked around his back and out the door into the fresh air. Alden followed and shut the door behind them. She began walking down the path, which cut through the forest. In the opposite direction they had gone before.

Alden felt tense once the canopy of leaves overlapped them. He spared a glance around. A deer was staring at them as they walked past. It snorted before trotting off.

The birds erupted into early morning song, and in the distance a small pack of wolves could be heard howling- greeting the dawn.

They walked in silence, nurturing their own thoughts, and getting lost in the sounds. The path veered Sharpley to the left and Maya led them down before it opened wider and the ironically sweet scent of salt brushed his nose.

The sea gently lapped at the beach as their feet left parallel tracks in the sand. Alden took a sip from his flask: hot chocolate, he sighed in delight as the sweet warmth rushed through his body.

Maya through a sideways glance at him and grinned. "Why do you have to be so dramatic?"

Alden laughed but didn't say anything.

They walked for a few minutes in silence before stopping and looking at sea and the sea gulls playing in the sky.

"What's going on with you Alden?" Maya asked.

"What do you mean?" Alden replied, raising his eyebrow.

"I didn't sleep well sure, but you looked like you were having a panic attack, and not for the first time." She said, referring to that night at Beacon when he had the first nightmare.

"The nightmares, they don't just feel real, they feel… like memories, like I actually did those things."

"What things?" Maya asked.

"In the dream, me and three others just stormed into a building and just… slaughtered a bunch of people in there. It makes me feel sick… I _enjoyed_ it, and I didn't quite have tempest on me," he said as the gauntlets unfolded as he looked at them, "but I was using something scarily similar." Tempest folded back.

"Maybe so. But it's just a nightmare, right?" Maya asked after taking a sip of her own drink.

Alden shook his head "Furla so far has guessed every detail, she has had the same visions, and probably Mansell and Eryel too."

Maya chuckled, "If I knew you would come with this much trouble, I wouldn't have dropped down to you in the Emerald forest and saved myself the effort."

Alden laughed, "I wouldn't of either so there's no big reveal."

The sun broke the horizon is a spectacular display of orange and yellow, reflecting off the sea.

"It's just that none of it makes sense, and I'm putting all of us in danger every time one of them shows up."

Maya shrugged, "let them come, I want another bash at them. We all do."

"yeah, I'm just scared that won't be enough."

Their conversation soon drifted towards more normal things, homework, they had to do over the holiday, the test they had coming up in the next week and so on.

They were soon forced to return to the house due to the growling of their stomachs and the sun climbing higher in the sky. When they got back, they were greeted with the sweet sizzling noise of Marcus whipping up a grand fry up breakfast.

As they sat to eat Alden could see dark circles under all his team's eyes, proving the general lack of rest that night. However, their more chirpy and jokey attitude was starting to return, so he had hope.

"I don't wanna' go back." Nite wined.

"You have to." Aegan said.

"But we've got a test coming up…"

"You'll do fine." Maya said.

"We'll go over the stuff in a few days, you'll remember it." Alden added.

They ate in silence for a bit, but it started to get uncomfortable as their thoughts drifted back to the day prior.

"What are we going to do about yesterday?" Aegan asked.

"We'll go and visit Ozpin today." Maya said, "He needs to know what happened."

"Though what can he really do?" Nite asked.

"At least get some experienced huntsman and huntresses on the job." Alden said.

"Fair enough."

"Though I'm not naïve enough to think that our problems will just go away when we tell Ozpin. They'll still be out there, it's just that we won't be on our own."

They soon finished up, and Alden began washing up as Mary grabbed a tea towel.

Feeling more confident with their plan of action MANA returned to normal, Nite and Aegan were laughing whilst precariously balancing plates whilst Alden and Maya started bickering over who would win in an actual fight.

Marcus and Ogora stood in the doorway, watching the chaos with smiles.

"They are so like us it's almost not funny." Ogora said.

"It is stranger." Marcus said, watching as Alden was trying to buck out of Maya's headlock before giving up and blinking away, before running as he was chased for cheating.

"perhaps too similar." He said.

Ogora looked at him with an eyebrow raised "you think that…?"

Marcus shrugged "maybe…"

Alden finished saying goodbye to his family before shouldering his backpack and turned onto the path. They were going to the Xiao Long household to pick up Ruby and Yang before the ferry. This time Alden felt less threatened by the forest around him, and happily watched a curious robin following them, hopping from tree to tree.

Alden knocked on the door and was greeted with the smiling face of Tai Yang.

"Hey guys! Come on in! the girls are just finishing up." They thanked him and entered the living room. Ruby came running down from upstairs.

"Hi! Sorry we're late. Kinda slept in ya know?"

Alden chuckled and shook his head, "Go on, hurry up, we have to leave soon."

"Good luck with that, Yang hasn't even left her bed!"

"Has she…" Alden said before walking towards the other end of the living room, before constantly knocking on the ceiling and didn't stop. Eventually there were three loud bangs back as Yang jumped on the floor to get him to stop.

"She's up." Alden said, way too proud of himself.

"You know she hates it when you do that." Tai reminded, walking through taking a bite from an apple.

"We've got one of professor Goodwitch's classes today, so she can take her anger out on me then." Alden replied.

A few minute later Yang appeared at the doorway, arms crossed over her chest and her signature glare aimed at Alden. What normally caused most people to crack and probably start whimpering slightly, Alden took it in his stride.

"Come on, hurry up, eat your breakfast, we've got fifteen minutes to catch the ferry."

She rolled her eyes before smiling slightly and made her way into the kitchen.

"I still don't know how he can do that." Ruby added, standing by the rest of the team.

The gates of the port finally came into view as they walked along the dirt path.

"Annnnnnnd… The ferry is leaving." Alden said, checking the time on his scroll.

"really?" Yang asked.

"Yes Yang, you didn't get your arse out of bed quick enough." Alden said

"Hey, I resent that!" Yang said.

"It's true" Ruby added. Yang glared at her sister.

The gates rattled opened, as they entered the most heavily concreted area on Patch. They could see over a few shipping containers to see the ferry leaving the port.

"Damn it." Maya said.

"Not yet, come on!" Alden called as he sprinted to the edge of the pier, everyone not far behind. He looked at the ferry, it was quite far, but still doable.

"Link up." Alden commanded, everyone linked arms, standing in a circle.

"Are you sure you…" Yang began.

"shh." Alden said concentrating. He closed his eyes…

With a bright flash which startled may passengers on the ferry they appeared on the deck.

Alden stumbled back feeling dizzy but was propped up by Yang.

"Thanks, he said."

The captain appeared from a doorway on the side and approached them.

"Ahh! There you are!" He said. "I tried to hold back as long as I could." He then looked at Yang "You need to learn how to set an alarm young lady."

Yang looked jokingly offended, "Tiller, why would you think it was me?"

"Who else would it be?" The captain retorted "You're the greatest procrastinator this world has ever seen!"

Everyone erupted into laughter.

Tiller's eyes then dropped onto Maya. "You're the lass I met a few weeks ago." He said.

"That would be me." She replied.

"Then that would mean you're on the same team as…" He looked at Alden before bursting into a very haughty laugh.

"Oh, my dear… I can only wish you luck with this one…"

"Ow." Alden said.

It wasn't long before the ferry entered Vale's harbour, and they watched the towering sea defences pass, before jumping onto the harbours deck after saying goodbye to the captain. And making a run for the airfield.

The doors of the airship opened, and they clambered in just before it took off. They took their usual seats by the window as the holo-screens flickered on.

"_The majority of the contestants for the Vytal tournament will arrive in Vale this week, convoys from Atlas and Mistral are on their way. The current statistics show that thirty-two teams in total have signed up..." _

"Do you think that maybe that Grim we faced will end up on the news?" Yang asked.

"It's possible" Nite said.

"Yeah, it's not like we learnt about _that_ in port's class…" Ruby said.

"That's because you always fall asleep in Port's lectures." Alden said.

He was elbowed by Ruby as she stuck her tounge out at him, and he returned the gesture." Maya rolled her eyes but smiled.

"What?" Alden asked.

"Nothing" she replied.

They stopped just inside the main doors of Beacon.

"Well, we've got to go and make sure Weiss and Blake haven't created any friendship shattering problems whilst we were gone." Ruby said.

"What are you guys doing?" Yang asked.

"We're…" Maya was interrupted by all of MANA's scrolls making a noise. They all pulled them out to have a look at the message.

"_MANA Please report to Professor Ozpin's office as soon as possible."_

"Well that was very passive aggressive." Aegan said, looking at his message.

"We're going to Ozpin's office." Maya said. Yang winced "Good luck with that…"

They said their goodbyes before entering the lift and taking the several minute-long trip to the top.

The doors dinged opened and they walked down the small corridor to Ozpin's office. Alden pressed the receiver and they waited for a bit. Eventually they heard a "Come in!" and the doors slid open.

Alden stepped into the room, getting sadly familiar with it. Ozpin, professor good witch and someone he didn't know were in deep conversation.

MANA stood bye the door awkwardly for a bit before finally being recognised.

"Ah yes team MANA, thank you for coming so quickly." Ozpin stood up from his desk and walked around.

"This is general Ironwood; he is the headmaster of Atlas Academy."

"General Ironwood" Stepped forward holding his hand out and shook their hands.

"It has come to my attention that you have come into contact with a new species of Grimm." He said.

"That's right sir." Alden said. His parents had called Beacon to alert them of the issue.

"What were they like?" Ozpin asked.

"Terrifying." Maya said. "They have this enlarged eye, but when it looks at you…" She and Aegan shuddered as the memory resurfaced.

"Yes?" General Ironwood pressed.

"They take over you, force you to fight your teammates."

Ozpin was silent as he took on this information.

"They're incredibly tough, we only managed to kill two of them, but it requires constant eye contact for them to remain in control."

"You only managed to kill two of them? How many did you face?" Goodwitch asked.

MANA was silent as they thought back.

"About five? Maybe six?"

"And what happened to the others?"

Alden verbally tripped up; he would have to tell them about Furla.

"A girl; showed up out of nowhere, was able just to cleave them in two."

Ozpin's eyebrows raised, "They seem to be a very remarkable character."

"She is, and she mentioned you by name, told me to tell you that I found the third?"

All the colour that Ozpin had in his face drained out of it.

"Then this is crucial, is she like _them?"_

"Like who?" The general asked.

Alden shook his head, "She told me that she's been running from them for about a year. Much friendlier than the others."

"Then all the pieces are in play… but different this time." Ozpin whispered.

"Ozpin what's going on?"

"I believe that Alden here is one of… them." He said, gesturing vaguely with his shoulders.

The general's eyes widened, and his hand dropped to the Grip of his pistol which was hanging by his hip. But he was stopped by Ozpin raising his hand.

"Ozpin, do you not see the threat he poses, to everyone? To you especially!" Ironwood exclaimed.

"I see the threat he _could_ pose, not the one he does." Ozpin stated. The members of MANA were looking between them like a tennis match.

"Are you sure he is?"

"I'm sure."

"And yet your happy to let him stay here!?"

"The alternative will prove quite disastrous; they normally turn because they are scared and alone. Here Alden has friends, a team, family. Things he would _choose_ to fight for, rather than follow blindly. This situation is vastly different to the times before."

"Umm… can I ask someone to explain what is going on?" Alden asked.

They both looked at him like they just realised he was there.

"I think you should tell him." Goodwitch piped up from the corner of the room, her arms crossed over her chest.

"But if Im wrong, then I'll simply cause more damage than prevent." Ozpin said.

"The others have taken an interest in him especially; they aren't wrong, and neither are you. Alden is the last one."

"Last what?"

Ozpin sighed. "There have been… stories. Stories of Siblings which have reoccurred throughout recorded history. They seem to serve a malevolent power, never defeated and seemingly immortal as they always reappear again and again after periods of silence."

He turned and walked to the window, looking out over Vale.

"To most, this is a bedtime story, to scare children on Halloween and the like."

Alden remembered his parents telling him this story, he always found it interesting.

"This is not a myth, the siblings _can _die, but they come back, in different bodies, when their mistress has need of them. Although this time something appears to have gone wrong and half of them, including yourself are in open rebellion to the indoctrination. This is strange indeed."

"So, what does that mean for me?" Alden asked, he knew Ozpin as holding back on the whole story but decided to run with it for now.

"For now? We do not know. We will have to see how the events pan out. A dark and incredibly old evil slumbers within you, and It will awake if you give it the chance. All the advice I can give you right now is to not push away your family and friends in the hope of keeping them safe, if you do that, you will not be able to safe them from yourself…"

Silence filled the room as everyone thought about what was said.

Nite subtly nudged her team mates to get their attention. She summoned a small part of her semblance in her hand… a black writhing ball.

Ozpin was scared...

**An: So sorry for the delay! Read the update to find out why, ill keep it up there for a few more days. MANA is taking its first step in a much larger and darker world. The next chapter will be a bit of a break and they will spend some time with friends, and the start of Tukson investigation may start, we'll have to wait and see!**

**I'm going to start a wordcount for the upcoming chapters on my profile so you know where I am and how close I am to updating, most chapters are between 6-8000 words give or take, so you can figure out when I'll be releasing in a few days.**

**Until then!**

**Etherway**


	14. Vol 2 Ch 3: The green eyed girl

Vol2 Ch: 3: The green-eyed girl

Dannis was silent for a few seconds before simply asking: "What?"

Alden sighed and covered his eyes with one hand, whilst keeping the other on the handhold of the Bullhead. "It is a _very _long and complicated story."

Dannis nodded. "Once we've dealt with whoever attacked us today, I'm buying you a drink and you need to tell me exactly what's going on."

Alden nodded "You better be prepared to pull an all nighter."

Dannis' eyebrow raised, "That bad huh?"

"That bad."

"Well you wouldn't be your parent's son for nothing would you?"

A green light flickered on above him and the side doors slid open, the roar of the jets filling the cabin. They could see the dust being blown away from the landing pad as the bullhead descended. They all hopped out and turned to face Dannis partially hanging out from the bullhead, keeping steady using the handholds.

"I'll get in contact within the next few days with what I've found, though if you want in, be ready, this will likely call for a more… _direct_ approach.

"Don't worry about us." Maya said, "We'll be there."

"Good. See you soon!" Dannis tapped on the door at the front and the engines roared louder as the Bullhead lifted off, pivoted before rotating its engines and pulling off into the distance.

"Well… he's gone." Aegan said.

"Do you actually think he'll tell us what he finds out?" Nite added.

"Oh, he will… and he'll give us front row seats, you'll see." Alden said. Before turning and walking up the path into Beacon.

"I still doubt it." Maya said as she drew stride with Alden.

"Come on, where's your faith in me?" Alden retorted.

"I have faith in you, just not… him. He seems… off."

Alden's eyebrows lowered, "I know he can come off a bit strange at times, but we can trust Dannis, he will tell us what he found, and he won't leave us behind."

"You sure?"

Alden's expression darkened, and his hand scratched a small scar on his right elbow. "I'm sure." Was all he said.

Concerned that she may have just entered dodgy territory, Maya dropped the subject. They walked on quietly around the pond, and listened to what Nite and Aegan were talking about:

"You can't just jump in front of a rocket like that."

"But it was going to hit the…"

"It doesn't matter! If you hadn't got your shield up in time you would have been a thin red paste on the floor!"

"I know what I was doing!"

"He knows Nite," Maya said" He's just saying we would rather you alive."

Nite sighed "Im sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just be careful." Alden said.

They entered the courtyard out the back, only a few students were meandering about as the afternoon drifted into the evening. They entered the dorm building and made their way to the top. Aegan swiped his scroll on the lock and they entered their room, drifted over to their beds and flopped down.

"Any theories?" Maya asked with her face buried in the pillows.

"Well their obviously related to the White fang, otherwise they wouldn't have known. Or… They were trying to blame it on the White fang… which is really bad for us because they would know you were listening in, and that means they know who we are and I'm not making this any better." Alden ranted.

"Thank you, Sherlock for contributing to the class." Maya said.

Alden shunted himself up and supported his head with his fist, "That was rude." Maya just stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, we can all agree that this is A: Not a coincidence, B: Really suspicious and C: Really, _Really_, bad."

"That pretty well sums it up." Aegan said.

Maya huffed and somehow was able to flop further back on her mattress.

"I don't know what to do." She said.

"What about the video call Aegan had? We could show it to your brothers, perhaps they know who the masked people were?" Nite asked

"possibly."

Silence befell the room as everyone was left with their thoughts. Alden felt anxious. They were waiting again. Their lives had not relented on piling on the strangeness. The sudden addition of Furla had not helped things, and now a friend of Maya's has been killed and the body taken by seemingly random assailants. It all stank. Yet here they were again, forced to do nothing but wait. The chess analogy creeped back into his brain. They couldn't move by themselves, everything that happened during MANA's short lifespan had been them _reacting _to something, they weren't able to _do_ anything on their own accord, always waiting for when the next unexplainable event to rear its head.

Were they related? Or were they amongst the unluckiest people on Remnant? Alden thought back, all the events had happened within a frighteningly short timeframe. Most of them they already knew were connected. Mansell, Eryel and Furla was a mess he was still trying to get his head around, but then suddenly an acquaintance of the team had been murdered and then the transport taken _whilst _they were present? Alden had a sickly feeling that it was all connected, and they were blind to what it was.

Alden took a few deep breaths to control the panic welling in his chest. He laid back and tried to clear his head. He started to feel the lull of sleep pulling on him… but he didn't want to, not yet. He slowly got up and looked at his teammates. Their soft breaths signalling they had succumbed to fatigue. Alden didn't blame them. He crept to the door and silently opened it. He entered the hallway and made his way to their stairs whilst checking his scroll for the time. Dinner was still being served; his stomach grumbled at the thought of food.

The canteen was bustling with students, so Alden had to dodge several people on his way to the serving bar. Once he reached it, he followed his nose to choose what he wanted. It turned out to be roast chicken, drizzled in gravy. He served himself a good portion before making his way down shovelling some vegetables onto his plate as he went.

When he was done, he looked around for the tell-tail signs of his friends- specifically Yang's hair. He remembered making a joke once that she should see if she could win a competition against a lighthouse. He expected to get punched, but it never came. She agreed with him. Alden smiled at the memory; she was too cocky for her own good sometimes.

Once he reached them, he slid himself in besides Yang and nudged her shoulder with his own in greeting. She returned the gesture, before nodding at one of the large Holo-screens on the end of the hall which was currently on a news channel.

"You've been busy. She remarked. Alden looked closer: it was an aerial shot of a street. The tarmac was cracked, and the flicker of gunfire being exchanged could be seen from either side. At the bottom of the screen the words: "MYSTERY ATTAKERS ASSUALT POLICE CONVOY" cycled around. The camera zoomed in to see Nite punch a masked man in the face before twirling behind him and slashing out with her sword at another.

He noticed the table had fallen quiet, he looked to his left to see everyone staring at the screen. He quickly looked back to see the purple flash as he and Maya entered the street. Knowing what transpired next he turned his attention back to the food in front of him.

"Well… it seems like you've had an interesting day." Pyrrha remarked.

"Do not get me started. It was just another giant mess today, and to think we might have got a day off…"

"It can't be all that bad," Ruby's optimism started shining through. "You all got out of it unharmed, I'd call that a win."

"Normally… yes, if not for the reason we were there in the first place: One of Maya's friends were murdered."

"Murdered!?" Jaune asked, looking up with a startled expression on his face.

Alden nodded, "Stabbed in the chest, left to crawl away and then shot in the head." Everyone scowled in disgust.

"That's… sick." Blake said. Alden nodded.

"How's Maya holding out?" Weiss asked.

"Don't know, hasn't had a chance to sink in yet." Alden replied. Yang nodded grimly; she knew the feeling.

"Then what was all that fighting about?" Ren asked, nodding holo-screen.

"The transport carrying his body was stolen, don't know why yet but as I said, its just another mess."

"Are the police going to do anything about it?" Ruby asked.

"I know the guy who's working on it personally, we'll have something to work with within a few days."

"Good, when you do can I come?" Nora asked, "Perhaps someone will allow me to break some legs!" Pyrrha rolled her eyes.

Alden cracked a smile, "We'll see."

Nora gasped, "Do I sense a possibility!?"

Alden shook his head and facepalmed.

"Does that mean yes? No? Possibly both? Wait…" She then stuffed her face with pancakes, and promptly ignored everything she just said.

Trying to move the conversation on Alden remembered the scene they had borne witness to that morning…

"What was your encounter with Ozpin this morning?" He asked Yang.

The table fell quiet as Weiss short a glare at Nora who looked incredibly sheepish.

Yang scratched the back of her neck. "Wellllll, let's just say, an inaccurate cream tart and Weis' face…" She then splatted her fist against her open palm.

"Ahhh. I can see how that went down poorly."

"It was amazing fun though; we should throw cream tarts at Weis' face more often!" Ruby cheered.

"No, we should absolutely _not._" Weiss chastised, scowling at Ruby, but was met with laughter from, the table.

"But…"

"_No!_"

"awwwww…"

"I don't know how you guys didn't get into any trouble at all. I mean you trashed the entire hall, and Goodwitch just flicked it all back together and said "yep!"

"Not quite like that." Pyrrha corrected. "She was incredibly cross with us, but Professor Ozpin managed to stop her."

Alden chuckled and shook his head before taking a bite.

"So, what are you guys doing tomorrow?" He asked.

"We were thinking of going to the library before Professor Goodwitch's class." Yang said. "We've got Professor Peach's test in two days' time, so we wanted to get some last-minute studying done."

"Yeah… we've had great luck with studying…" Alden said.

"What Nite and Aegan aren't being cooperative?" Blake asked.

"No, they are… well at least their trying. But we wanted a break, so we went to the arcade for an hour or two and then _that _happened." He said gesturing to the holo-screen. It had now switched to a picture of Tukson, and then some scroll camera footage taken from one of the passer-by's as Alden and Maya blinked onto the scene.

"I could see how that would break your concentration" Pyrrha said.

"Doesn't it just."

The conversation soon turned to something more joyful, but it wasn't long before they got up to go to bed. As they left the cafeteria Alden noticed the stars had come out, the dazzling constellations lighting up the night sky. They were surrounded by other teams heading into the dormitory building. They reached the door and the others went in, but something caught Alden's eye. He stopped and turned. There out in the darkness, ducking behind the tree in the dusk.

_Eyes._

Bright green and glowing, even from this distance he could tell when they blinked. He looked around, no one seemed to know anything or see them. He looked back and they were still there. Staring.

He walked towards them, the shadows enveloping him as he left the range of the streetlamps, but still the eyes kept looking. Tempest folded out, and the blades sprang free as Alden approached. He knew it was a stupid idea to approach, his team had no idea where he was, nor were they nearby in case anything happened. But he felt irresistibly drawn to it. It wasn't like his encounter with Mansell and Eryel, they terrified him, he knew they were a threat when he first laid eyes on them. This presence wasn't threatening. But he wasn't stupid, a little caution didn't hurt anyone.

As he got closer, he could start to make out shapes. The eyes belonged to a girl, younger than Ruby or Mary, she looked wispy and transparent but her eyes… her eyes were a luminous green, and casted a light everywhere she looked. As he got closer, they locked onto him with a strange intensity. It was like looking into a mirror.

The girl saw his weapons, she flinched but didn't run. Tempest retracted. As he slowly approached. Seeing he was not aggressive the girl slowly left her cover as Alden crouched down in front of her and stifled a gasp. He had seen her before. Back on the streets of Vale, in the Alleyway, and the explosion… but the others didn't see it.

Her eyes seemed to dim, and he could see her face more clearly. She was definitely young, with a small ponytail just managing to rest over her left shoulder. The skin around her right eye was mangled and burnt. Her clothes were torn, and she looked out of breath. His eyes drifted further down, and he could have sworn his heart actually stopped.

In her hands was a small black stuffed toy… of a dog.

Alden felt sick.

"W-Who are you?" she asked, her voice sounded distant, like it wasn't really there. Alden was too stunned to answer. She held out her hand and it passed through him. She looked surprised at this fact. She then flinched like she heard something and looked off to her right. Her eyes widened. Alden followed her gaze, there was nothing there. Just grass.

She took off in the opposite direction and then evaporated, the smoke splitting and drifting off in every direction. Alden was left standing in the field, heart beating incredibly quickly. Staring off into the night.

He was beginning to seriously question his own sanity.

Alden crept onto the top floor, trying not to disturb anyone sleeping in the dorm rooms, the automatic lights switching on and following his ascent of the building. He reached his door and passed his scroll over the lock; it clicked pen and pushed the door. His eyes drifted around the room. Everyone was still asleep; they hadn't even got dressed they had collapsed when they got back and stayed there. All but one.

Maya's bed was empty, it's covers pushed back. Alden walked to the door of the bathroom and listened. There was no noise, and he couldn't see the light drifting through the cracks.

He couldn't blame her for not sleeping, she had lost a family friend and the running around and fighting had been taxing enough for the rest of them.

"If I was Maya, where would I go to think this through…" he whispered to himself. Aegan grunted and turned in his sleep. Alden worried he might have woken him, but he soon stilled. Deciding the roof was his best bet, he crept out of their room, and headed for the end of the corridor towards the small final staircase, leading to the roof.

He slowly opened the door, ignoring the creaking noise of its hinges. He could see someone sitting cross-legged at the edge of the roof. They turned as they heard the door. Maya smiled as she saw him. Though that didn't distract Alden from seeing the dark circles under her eyes and the small wet streaks leading down her face, illuminated by the moon overhead. She had swung her tail round onto her lap, her fingers were fiddling with it, untangling knots in the fur.

Alden sat beside her and looked out over Beacon. The large central clock spire dominated the view, with the various class wings spreading out from it like a spider's web.

"Where did you go?" Maya asked, "I noticed you weren't there when I woke up."

"Oh, I was hungry, so I went to get some dinner and catch up with the others to ask them what that fiasco in the cafeteria this morning was."

"Oh yeah… I forgot about that. What happened?"

"Someone threw a cream tart at Yang, missed and got Weiss in the face."

Maya burst out laughing.

"Gods, I needed that." She breathed.

Alden smiled and looked at the floor in front of her. It was her scroll, a picture on the screen. He reached over and picked it up. He recognised the Aletha household. A younger Maya sat beside her brothers listening intently to the man he saw dead in the shop. He was reading a book to them.

Maya saw what he was looking at. "Every Friday, he would come round to our house to read us stories. He had this way with words, helped me write my application for Beacon, he shut his shop early for me that day."

She huffed and looked at Alden "He joined the White fang after he saw a Faunus being beaten up outside his shop, the authorities ignored it."

Alden nodded but didn't interrupt her.

"At first he joined when it was peaceful. But when it got violent, he would find targets, but only on people and places that hurt Faunus."

She let out a sigh and turned her gaze from the view to look at him.

"But they started pressuring him to find more innocent targets to "send the message" He didn't want to, but knew they would never let him leave, so he planned to run away to Vacuo in secret."

She looked back out to the distance; a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"And now he's dead."

The entire time she had continued fiddling with her tail, but her hands got stuck and she began violently tugging in her frustration. Alden reached over and slapped her hands away. He then pulled her tail away and laid it across his lap. He noticed her flinch when he grabbed it, but she quickly relaxed when she saw what he was doing.

He began to gently unravel the knot she got stuck on. Taking great care not to pull the fur too much. When he finished, he combed his hand through it, straightening it out before moving onto the next one.

Maya tilted slightly to give him easier access and rested her chin on her palms as she watched an airship drift towards Beacon.

"He wouldn't have snitched them out, he believed in their cause. He just didn't want a part in the violence."

A noise that sounded like a growl emanated from her throat.

"He didn't have to die!" She sniffed and wiped her eyes with his arm. "He wasn't a threat to anyone, least of all the White Fang!"

Alden unfurled another knot. But kept his eyes on her to show he was listening.

Her hands collapsed into her lap, and she looked back at him, several more tears streaking down her face.

"We're supposed to _protect_ people." She whispered, barely audible to Alden's inferior ears.

Maya was surprised at how intense Alden's eyes were when they snapped up when she finished. He was looking at her with a mixed of shocked aghast and anger.

"We're supposed to _try_ to protect people, as best we can, and to never _stop_ trying. This was _not your fault._"

Slowly she nodded and looked down at the fountain below them. She felt him beginning to work on another knot. It was strangely comforting. It was something her parents would do when they were having a film night, and she would cuddle up next to them on the sofa. She hardly let anyone touch it, but Alden was so gentle when he was working, she couldn't help but relax and feel his steady methodical pace as he moved from one knot to the next, always flattening the fur behind him as he finished.

They didn't say anything for a while, content in the silence between them. Both lost in their own thoughts. Alden desperately wanted to tell her what he saw on the way in but didn't want to disturb her from everything she had on her own plate, let alone that he wasn't _sure_ that he hadn't imagined the whole thing.

The event started to replay in his mind again. He didn't know who they, or if it happened at all, but his insides felt hollowed out, like he had made a realisation, but didn't know what it was.

"What are you thinking about?" Maya jolted him from his thoughts.

"hmm? Oh, nothing." He replied trying to deflect the question, but to no avail as she just raised her eyebrows and stared.

"Something's bothering you…"

"Not as much as what's bothering you right no-"

"You're bothering me by not telling me what's wrong."

"I… I'm not sure what it is myself, its… its… I don't know, I'll run you through it tomorrow. I promise."

"Well if you don't, we do have professor Goodwitch's class tomorrow so…" She aimed her signature evil grin at him, "you better."

Alden gulped.

She laughed, and her shoulders seemed less tense as she looked at him, trying to figure out what was on his mind, she shrugged and seemed to drop it. She rested her chin back on her hands and looked up at the stars twinkling above them.

The conversation died down again, so Alden preoccupied with finishing his work on her tail, speeding up now he was able to focus his attention. He could tell that Maya hadn't seen to it for a few days, as he had gone through countless matts and knots in the fur.

"Why is trouble following us around so much lately?" Maya suddenly asked, not turning her attention away from the night sky.

"Oh, so it's not just me who's noticed?" Alden said as he finished, he began to just run his fingers through her tail absentmindedly.

"Especially, since the trip to forever fall, it just hasn't stopped." She looked back, "hell, we even encountered a new species of _Grimm_. I mean, I think that hasn't happened since early recorded history. So why us? Why you?"

"These are all questioned I've failed to answer."

"we'll have to, and soon. Someone's already died because we haven't… and I'm afraid that more will follow."

"It's not even like we can go for help, Ozpin is more interested in watching me and being suspicious than actually trying to find the psychopaths that tried to kill us."

Maya nodded and yawned. "we'll have a think about this tomorrow, I for one am shattered."

Alden nodded and stood up; he held his hand out. Maya accepted and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Alden turned to walk to the door but was stopped when she grabbed his arm. He turned and she pulled him into a hug. Unsure of where this had come from, he carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Thanks for keeping me company tonight. It really helped."

"Don't sweat it, just making sure you'll be fine."

She nodded, "But don't think you've escaped, I want to know what's bothering you tomorrow."

"You will, I promise."

She nodded against his shoulder and pulled away. They headed back down the stairs and silently entered their room, Nite and Aegan were still sound asleep. They mouthed a goodnight at each other and clambered into bed, too tired to bother getting changed. Almost immediately Alden felt sleep tugging at him…

He was looking at a window in a shop, although when he saw his reflection, he realised suddenly it was a _she_ who was looking at the window. She was clearly a huntress in training. With sturdy but flexible clothing covered by a leather jacket, though he could see the purple stripe underneath, she used gravity dust in her clothing.

What really drew his attention were the red metal plates on her wrist, the more he paid attention to them the more and more they looked like one of the earlier prototypes of Tempest he designed. His attention then went to her head, a brown ponytail rested over the front of her shoulder. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, not too dissimilar to his own. The skin around her right eye was a dark red colour, a burn scar.

"Azerra?" Someone asked from behind her, she turned to see a boy walk up to her. He had black hair and was roughly the same height as her. He was wearing a simple red jumper and jeans.

"Oh, hi Ryan." She said closing the gap between them and pulled him into a hug.

"What you been thinking about?" he asked,

"Oh, nothing."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

She sighed; I'm just feeling… off.

"Is it…?"

She nodded "I think so," she said as she looked around, "I may be wrong but…"

"I don't feel anything wrong, but it's really difficult for me to feel them, you know since they're from a different time and all."

Azerra rolled her eyes. And walked off with Ryan in tow. They entered onto the main Highstreet. Alden recognised it as Vale, but it looked… older. He should be able to see the spires of the arcade here, but they were nowhere to be seen. He also recognised a few buildings, but these were new, not the slightly aged structures he knew.

She looked to her left and stopped dead in her tracks, some people walking behind her nearly collided with her. Ryan stood by her side.

"You see them?" Azerra nodded.

In front of her standing in the middle of street were _them_. The one with the glowing blue, nearly white eyes, was collapsed on the ground, gripping at her stomach. The other one, with the glowing emerald eyes was standing above her, facing down something approaching them, but she was never able to see what they saw until she had the dream about the event, for now she could only watch how they acted.

"Back!" He growled, eyes scanning around hum, like he was surrounded. "No one touches her!" His weapons were deployed at his wrists, the blades burning, casting a spectral orange across the floor.

He then looked down the street, and his entire demeanour changed, his feet remained grounded but, on his face… he was scared. He clenched his fists and made a move to charge but stopped himself, he was being taunted.

He looked behind him and suddenly looked nearly hopeless. He wondered if _they_ had arrived at this point. Jaden, Iyla and Erica had a knack of making her feel like all was lost at times, no matter how many times she pulled through.

"Just leave us alone!" He growled, "why do you follow her whims anyway?"

He seemed to listen to a reply.

"yeah, over my dead body, you are _not _taking her."

He turned and lowered himself towards the ground, constantly checking in both directions, they were advancing.

His fists clenched. Azerra watched in horror, as the veins in his fist turned black, and travelled up his arms towards his neck. She began to feel sick as his eyes slowly turned red. She could feel it waving off him, the nearly uncontrollable fury and anger directed towards who he was conversing crashing against the unbridled desperation to protect the person below him.

"no, no, no, no." Azerra mumbled as she saw the black orbs form in his hands, the friendly presence of his green eyes, completely replaced by the sickly red.

"What is it?" Ryan asked her, Azerra didn't reply as she watched the corrupting power unleashed. The wrong thing, for all the right reasons. She felt the earth rumble at her feet, but she knew she was the only one who would feel it. Watching the black streak tear apart reality in front of her.

Her eyes dropped to the girl who started to move, her Icey blue gaze facing their assailants, her eyes widened as she saw the darkness above her and rolled to face the boy above her.

"Alden?" Maya gasped.

The dream faded to black…

**Hi everyone! Sorry it took a while, I've been moving to a new house, and moving all that stuff… it's been tiring work to say the least, I've probably rewritten this chapter at least twice by now, but I was so tired I didn't write it properly. However, now it's done I hope you enjoyed it; I really liked the story in this. Even though it was supposed to be a quieter relaxed chapter but… that didn't happen. Any way if you've enjoyed this story so far, consider writing me a review or a PM, I really enjoy when I hear your opinions and ideas for this story. If not, just a fav or follow does wonder s for my moral writing this story! Join us next time to see the aftermath of this nightmare, and the search with Dannis begins. We will also definitely see more of Azerra soon and get to know more about her!**

**So, until then!**

**Etherway**


	15. Vol 2 Ch 4: Scared

Vol2: Ch 4: Scared

Maya rolled over and pulled the covers closer to her. Drowsily noting the fact that she was in her bed. She hadn't expected to get any sleep that night, she needed air, so she had made her way to the roof…

Ah…

The events of that last night filtered back into her mind. She hadn't expected Alden to show up, but she was grateful all the same. She hadn't been in the best of places yesterday. The memory of seeing Tukson lying there in the pool of blood… She didn't know how to feel, she was beyond furious, _vengeful_. But at the same time terrified that someone was capable of such cruelty.

Realising that her thoughts mean she wasn't going to be able to get to sleep she groaned and sat up against the headboard, eyes still closed. They only had one lesson today, but that was in the afternoon. Wait, no Aegan and Nite had another one this morning. So probably she and Alden will head to the ring to practice for the entries into the Vytal. It would also serve to see if she could get at what was worrying him last night.

Her eyes finally opened. Her covers had crumpled by her feet, her tail had curled round in her sleep and was resting between her legs, she flicked It up to get a closer look. She didn't remember getting all those knots out…

She felt her cheeks warm. She couldn't believe she actually _let _him touch her tail. To her it was like being jabbed in the sides when people pulled it. A lot of people found out the hard way her reaction. The easy way to avoid it was to just not allow anyone but her parents near it.

_Well, that plan flew out the window._

She looked around the room. The harsh glare of her alarm clock said 6:54 AM, 6 minutes before it would go off. The sun was starting to break through the small gap in the curtains covering their window, casting a small ray of light against the door. Everyone was asleep still, with occasional turning over and muttering against a pillow…

_Thump, thump, thump._

Her eyes snapped over to Alden, he was lifting his entire body and dropping back again.

"Alden could you please stop that?" She mumbled tiredly, knowing that he would stop if he realised he was being irritating. But he kept going.

"Alden…" she groaned again. Still, he carried on.

With a growl she swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up, before marching over to where he lay.

She stopped in her tracks…

His eyes were wide open, but unfocused and hazy, pupils unnaturally wide. Her Faunus hearing could even hear his heart, beating way to vigorously and rapidly.

"Alden?" she asked, trying to gently shake him awake to no avail. Her tail began to nervously twitch.

She looked over her shoulder, "guys, get up!" she commanded.

Aegan and Nite mumbled as they were awoken.

"wha…" Aegan began, looking at the alarm clock, "it hasn't even gone off why di…" He trailed off as he looked at Maya, and Alden beneath her. They shot up, and crowded around her, looking down at their twitching teammate.

"What's going on?" Nite asked.

"I don't know." Maya said.

Nite summoned a small ball of her semblance: a swirling mess of brown and black.

"I think he may be having a panic attack." She diagnosed, holding some fingers against his pulse point in his neck, "his heart is beating too fast, erratic breathing," she looked down at her palm, "healthy portions terror." She nodded in agreement with herself.

"how do you know?" Aegan asked. Nite just looked at him. "oh yeah, of course." Nite has had plenty of her own over the last year.

"Can we stop it?" Maya asked.

Nite shook her head, "I don't think so. We'll have to let him ride it out."

_Thunk._

Alden slammed back down, but this time, remained deathly still. All his muscles were taught, his limbs rigid. Maya could still hear his heart racing. Nite reached over and tilted his chin upwards to allow air to pass through more easily. He gasped, then his breathing steadied.

After a minute Maya could hear his heart slowing down, the black in Nite's hand slowly turned to brown. She clenched her fist and it dissipated.

"He'll be fine." She declared. "I wonder what it was all about though?"

The alarm clock suddenly blared its morning greetings, Aegan quickly stopped it.

Alden had mostly returned to normal. Except he was deathly still, the only motion was the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

"Go on," Maya said eventually, "You need to get to class."

"But…" Nite protested.

"I've got him, don't worry. Go, don't get in trouble with Oobleck."

Nite scowled but relented. "Fine…"

"Come find us afterwards, if anything worsens, I'll call you. Promise."

They rushed to get ready and soon Maya was by herself. She walked over to the window and looked down over the courtyard at the mess of student ambling about. She headed into the bathroom and splashed water on her face to help wake herself up. She opened her wardrobe and pulled out her clothes before quickly getting changed. She grabbed her sword and strapped it to her hip.

She sat at the foot of Alden's bed, nudging his legs away to make herself room. She pulled out her scroll and looked up her timetable. She was right, they only had Professor Goodwitch's lesson today, but that was this afternoon.

She sent a small "hello" message back home to her parents and asked them how they were doing and spent the rest of the time absentmindedly looking through different things on her scroll.

Suddenly Alden's body jerked again, and his eyes sprang open. He was panting and his eyes had a wild look about them. They locked onto her and he stared at her for a minute before he started to calm down. Maya didn't say anything and allowed it to run his course, he wouldn't hear anything she could say anyway.

Soon he seemed to calm down enough to start paying attention.

"You gave us quite the fright." She said, "Nite said you were having a panic attack." Alden pondered for a minute.

"Yeah, wouldn't be surprised." He said, his voice was laced with grogginess from a restless night. He swung his legs round off the bed and stared at the floor, fazing out.

Maya tapped him on the shoulder, "Come one, get up. We'll head to the ring; it'll help you snap out of this."

Catching onto instruction Alden managed to stand up and slowly drift towards the bathroom. Several minutes later the door opened again. He looked a but more awake, but still slightly out of it.

"Sorry about that." He said, "bad dream."

Maya looked at him concerned but didn't say anything.

They sat at an empty table, amongst the last to get breakfast. Alden was strangely quiet, he was picking at his food, clearly not hungry. Maya kept glancing at him from over her food. It wasn't long before he caught her staring.

"What?" He asked.

"You look like a kicked puppy." She replied flatly. Alden did crack a smile at that one.

"Sorry," he said, "I've just got a lot on my mind right now." Maya could tell he didn't really want to talk about it all. But he definitely wouldn't talk surrounded by so many people, they couldn't tell if any would listen in. Maya nodded in understanding but resolved not to give up on the subject until he spilled.

As Maya was nearly finished with her meal, she saw that Alden had taken an actual bite of his food. His body suddenly decided that it was indeed hungry and began to wolf it down. Maya clasped a hand over her mouth to stop the laugh escaping.

This time Alden didn't even pay attention and was finished before her. He licked his lips in satisfaction. He then looked at her.

"Come on," he said, "eat up."

Maya couldn't hold in her laugh anymore and her head dropped with a bang onto the table. Alden rolled his eyes but smiled as he watched her shoulders twitch. She raised her head and wiped the tear from her eye. She quickly finished up and they stood up to deposit their dirty dishes at the end of the hall.

"Come on." She said walking towards the side exit, looking back over her shoulder to make sure he was following her. They crossed over the courtyard and into one of the entrances in the outer wing. Following a few corridors inwards to be faced with the large double doors of the ring. Maya put both her hands against one of the doors and shoved, grunting as she felt the heavily reinforced doors budge and then swing open.

She flicked a switch as they entered and the large spotlights flashed on, illuminating the central ring of which the room was named after. Maya quickly looked around the room, to make sure no one else was in the room. They were alone. Good.

They entered the ring and headed for the centre.

"So why are we here? I didn't think tha- whoa!" He cut short as Maya's Glaive swung at him from the corner of his vision. He bent backwards as the blade sailed over his face. As Maya twisted and swung the blade clockwise to be able to thrust again, he quickly backed up to gain some distance.

Tempest rattled as the chamber spun and the yellow chambers locked in. The blades sprang out and then sparked as electricity arced down them. Alden raised an eyebrow at her. "So it's going to be lack that is it?"

The moment Maya saw the flash of purple she smiled, waited a second and then thrust backwards, using the rear spear edge of the handle. She grinned again when she heard a yelp from behind her. Alden was staring at the blade resting against his chest.

Maya's pulled her weapon away and flicked her tail up, so it tickled against his nose. "Someone's distracted." She said before flicking the handle of her glaive round and yanked, pulling Alden off his feet and he collapsed on his back with a groan. She could only laugh at his discomfort. She heard a rattle and then a bang. Maya turned to see that Alden hat literally fired himself off the ground and performed a graceful backflip, firing two fireballs at her.

She jumped back and they exploded where she once stood, she jammed the handle against the floor to help her slow down, when she came to a stop she twisted her wrist so the handle rested diagonally across her back and the blade ignited, giving the dragonhead guard a much more intimidating look. Alden too stopped and they circled each other waiting from the other to make the first move.

Alden levelled his gauntlets and fire his grapple, the beam wrapping around the centre of Maya's handle. He pulled and Maya stumbled, and Alden swung his other arm down. Predicating the attack Maya continued to deliberately fall forwards and rolled, dragging Alden in the opposite direction forcing him to lose balance. Her glaive shortened into its sword form causing the Grapple to lose it's grip and span as she jumped, slashing down across his back.

Alden's Aura flashed brightly, the direct hit chewing through it causing it to nearly deplete. He swore over his carelessness.

"good hit." He said after he desperately made some distance.

The tip of Maya's sword grazed across the ground as her left foot curled and rested along the back of her other leg.

"What's bothering you? You're clearly distracted." She asked. Alden wasn't fighting with any of his usual gracefulness, being very clunky and obviously careless.

Alden hesitated, "It's… it's… Oh I don't know. I'm gonna sound crazy."

Maya looked pointedly at him. "Do you seriously think after all that's happened recently, I'm going to think you're crazy?"

"good point."

Maya waited patiently as he thought of what to say.

"When I was coming back from dinner, just before I entered the dorm building, I saw someone looking at me, they had these- these…" He stuttered and went pale; Maya noticed the slightly erratic movement of his chest.

"Alden?" She asked approaching him, immediately concerned. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

"I… I…" He swayed like he was dizzy.

Maya grunted as she caught his arm to slow his fall, he splayed on his back, blinking rapidly at the spotlights on the ceiling. Maya pushed herself back on her knees to get a better looked to see if anything physical was wrong. A small flicker by his face caught her attention, something about his eyes, like she had seen them change, they were still their emerald green, but she could have sworn there was something different about them before and they had just returned to normal.

She grabbed on to his arm again and hauled him back on to his feet and slug his arm around her shoulders, swaying as she rebalanced them.

"Come on then, let's get you to the medical wing." They slowly lumbered out of the ring.

"Wha- wat are we goeng…" Alden manage to slur. Before slumping against her, his eyes drooping. "I… I really domt fell wel."

"I know, hang in there." She said as she tried to pick up the pace but stumbled slightly. Thankfully everyone in the busy corridors parted to either side to let her through. Suddenly the weight of Alden was significantly slackened. Maya diverted her gaze from were she was going to see the easily recognisable ears of Velvet, who had taken Alden's other arm.

"Is he alright?... wait no of course he isn't… What happened?" She asked in concern.

"I don't know, we were just sparring in the ring and he just… collapsed."

"Do you know if this is to do with what happened at forever fall?"

Apart from those who were present and a few members of staff the events that transpired during the trip to forever fall was a closely kept secret, Maya hadn't even told velvet, who was one of her best friends.

"I don't know… maybe?" She said as they stumbled forward. "Though I almost wish we were back at forever fall, Yang can carry Alden by herself."

They rounded a corner and were faced with the medical wing. Maya used her foot to nudge the door open enough to be able to use her shoulder to get them through it.

"Well, well, well, what has he got himself into this time?" Came a chirpy voice approaching them. Maya looked to see Doctor Crawford, the same doctor that had attended to Alden before. She helped them unload Alden onto a nearby bed. She quickly grabbed some rubber gloves and slipped them on, before proceeding to connect various monitoring equipment to him.

"Hmmm…. Heartbeats normal," She put her arm over his mouth, "Breathing's OK." She grabbed a syringe on the table next to the bed and quickly jabbed it into his arm, pulling out a pale red liquid.

"Aha!" She said victoriously, turning to show them. The liquid should have been a rich red colour, not pale. "Very low blood pressure, mixed with some deficiencies of the blood itself." She capped the syringe and placed it in the bag.

"I'll get this analysed just to make sure, but I'm ninety percent certain this was just brought on by a huge amount of stress, which he has clearly been exposed to and in great quantities." She looked down at the bag again. "I'll get this sorted, it should only take a few minutes so fell free to stay here if you would like." Maya nodded.

"Right see you in a few." Crawford said as she left through a door in the back.

Maya huffed and sat in a chair next to Alden, she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn.

"Busy day?" Velvet asked with light-hearted sarcasm. Maya tried to smile but she thought it probably looked like a grimace.

"Don't get me started." Maya huffed, suddenly remembering her promise she pulled out her scroll and began to text Nite to tell them what happened so they could get here.

"I… I… saw what happened yesterday on the news, I… I'm sorry about Tukson, he was really nice, it must be hard for you." Velvet stuttered.

Maya stalled, her fingers stopped dancing over the screen of her scroll, and she took a shuddering breath as she was still battered by grief of losing her surrogate father, she squeezed her eyes to fight back the rouge tear.

She was suddenly engulfed in a soft hug; she rested her head against Velvet's shoulder and steadying her breath. She was grateful for her friend's uncanny ability to make anyone feel better just by her presence alone and unshakeable optimism. She thought back to how this was similar to when they first met…

Maya was walking through the grounds of Pharos academy, situated towards the outer city, it was the closest to her home, it was that or signal, unless she wanted to study in a different kingdom. It was during the lunch break and the sun was beating down on everyone. She was making her way to her spot in the shade, keeping an eye out for anyone looking at her for an extended period of time, she didn't really want any trouble today.

As strange as it may seem, Maya didn't have many friends at his point in her life, in fact she didn't have _any_. There weren't many Faunus in the academy, and all the humans either bullied Faunus or would be bullied by those who bullied Faunus if they tried to help. Since Maya couldn't hide her species in anyway, as she had a bright orange tail sticking out her lower back, she had to take on the discrimination head on. She was fine with that, she was mostly a lone wolf anyway, well not really a wolf but…

She walked past the edge of one of the wings of the academy, her spot not to far away, when she heard in a quiet voice:

"Ow! That hurts!"

Maya turned to see a group of boys had cornered a Faunus girl into the corner, of them had grabbed her and was pulling her ears. Maya's blood boiled, she never did get _why _humans had such a hatred for her kind, she hadn't yet to meet a nice one, let alone one with a backbone to stand up against what was clearly wrong.

She spied a large, sharp rock on the ground and weighed it in her hand. Perfect. She turned to face the group and squinted one eye as she took aim, Drakontas was in her locker on the other side of the compound, if she missed… well, she wouldn't miss.

"Hey! Heads up!" She called. The group turned to look at her, but the lead one which had grabbed the girl had looked up.

_Bullseye_

She grinned and sent her projectile sailing, smashing straight into his face. His aura took all the impact, but he still felt it. He shouted in pain and glared at her. For the first time she got a good look at his face.

_Ahh him…_

Cardin Winchester was hands down the biggest Bully in the entire academy, despite being in the youngest year. Not many dared to even mention his name when he was nearby, such was his reign of terror. Yet Maya had just smacked him square I the face with a large rock.

He growled, let go of the girl and stormed towards her. Once he got closer, he took a swing at her, Maya grabbed his wrist, but made no attempt to stop it, he was way to strong. Instead she followed it through, slowing it down just enough to duck under it before pulling through, completely off balancing him. She rammed her knee up into his stomach, winding him before twisting his arm and wrapping her ankle around his pulling him off his feet, trapping Cardin to the floor with his arm at a very painful angle.

As the others surged towards her, she pulled gently on Cardin's arm, causing him to shout out in pain.

"One more step and I'm snapping his arm." She growled in a challenge, knowing they wouldn't do anything to endanger their ringleader. She locked eyes with the girl they were harassing and using her eyes told her to sneak off around the other side of the building before they remembered her. Nodding the girl silently slipped away. She turned her attention back to the group.

"Now, you all leave that way," She said gesturing with her head in the opposite direction. And I'll let him go, anything else…" She pulled on his arm again, causing Cardin to shout to prove her conviction. Slowly they backed off and when she was happy with their distance, she pulled Cardin back to his feet, with his arm pinned behind his back. She moved her head closer to his ear.

"If you _ever_ go for her or me again, I can do far, _far_ worse. Have I made myself clear?" She growled in his eye, pulling again to make him wince. He nodded.

"good." She said and then shoved him away towards his friends watching to make sure he didn't return.

She suddenly noticed a presence by her side, she turned to see the girl who was being bullied. She must have come back after seeing the others being extradited away. Maya had seen her around before, but like Maya she seemed to keep to herself to avoid attention. She was slightly taller than her and had long brown hair running down her back, and two large rabbit ears sticking from the top of her head.

"You alright now?" Maya asked. She was answered by being crushed in a hug by the girl.

"Thank you." She said sincerely. As Maya returned the gesture.

"Anytime." Maya said. She then perked up as she had an idea. "Do you want to sit with me? My spot's in the shade." The girl beamed at her. "I would really like that."

"I'm Maya by the way." She said as they pulled apart and offered her hand in greeting.

"Velvet. It's very nice to meet you Maya." She said as she shook her hand. Together they walked off to the end of the compound…

Maya pulled away from her friend, annoyed at herself when she saw the slightly damp patch on Velvet's shoulder.

"Sorry." She apologised, wiping her eyes with her arm. Velvet looked at her with stern eyes.

"Don't you dare apologise!" She said. Jokingly slapping her wrist, "You know I'm always here for you."

"I know." Maya said smiling, her softer side always coming out in Velvet's presence.

After a few seconds Velvet piped up again: "You were texting your friends."

"Oh gods, I was, wasn't I?" Maya said picking up her scroll and finishing her text. Before sending it to Nite…

"As you can see by traversing through the canyon General Haftworth managed to conceal his force's numbers whilst limiting Atlesian army's ability to deploy their much superior force against them, resulting in an unlikely victory for the Valian military even though the statistical probability was seventy to one…" Professor Oobleck ambled on in his usual fast pace, most of the students in the room had already given up trying to keep pace with the professor.

Nite was desperately scribbling down notes, occasionally distracted by Aegan shuffling about in boredom. When suddenly he felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket. Technically she wasn't supposed to check it during class. But she felt compelled to. She had felt off all day, and her semblance was far more sensitive than normal, she was tired already just under the bombardment of emotional information she was receiving from the people in the room, so much so she had tried to focus it solely on Aegan who was expelling a sense of boredom, but it was still calmer than anyone else, which made it a bit easier to deal with, but she already had a raging headache.

She slowly wormed her scroll out of her pocket and opened it beneath the desk.

**Maya: Alden collapsed in ring, got him to medical wing, drop by ASAP.**

She felt the worry starting to eat up at her, Alden had never been in good shape recently. She pushed her stuff to make it easier to get them in her bag and accessed Beacon's student system and brought up a symbol of Beacon's (and by extension Vale's) symbol on a yellow background and held it up so Professor port could see it. He paused just for a second and nodded to her. Aegan looking up because Oobleck had actually stopped for a second, saw the symbol Nite had showed and immediately started shoving his stuff in his bag and together they slipped out of the classroom. And they took off at a sprint.

Due to Beacon being a combat orientated educational institute it had devised a series of signals students could use to get students out of class whilst causing as little disruption as possible to the rest of the class. A yellow background meant a team medical emergency. So as soon as he saw Nite holding up her scroll he knew Something had happened to Alden…

Roughly three minutes later Maya saw the doors to the medical wing burst open revealing Nite and Aegan, she was surprised she expected them to be another half an hour when their lesson finished but was happy they left early.

"Is he going to be alright?" Aegan asked. Maya nodded.

"Crawford things it was just stress induced low blood pressure."

Just then the back door opened, and Doctor Crawford came back in.

"Good news everyone, I was right. Which means he'll be fine in no time." She said whilst brandishing a new syringe.

"This is Tetraexhanol, it should thicken his blood up and boost the nutrient level to make up for his recent deficiencies."

Crawford quickly inserted the syringe into his arm and injected the medicine. "It's fast acting, so his body should feel confident enough to wake up in a few minutes."

She sighed as she took the syringe out, "Didn't I tell him to take it easy for a few weeks?"

"He did," Maya said, "It's just there were some…" She quickly tried to think on her feet, "Family issues back home, and he was trying to deal with them."

"Ahh, that would explain it." Crawford said as she rubbed the puncture with a piece of cotton wool and left the rest for his aura to clean up. She checked over her work, and then turned back to the others.

"There we go, he should be up soon, if he doesn't wake up within the next five minutes come grab me OK?"

They nodded. Doctor Crawford smiled again before leaving through the back.

After a few seconds of silence, Velvet decided to fill it.

"So, have you guys had the exam to enter the Vytal tournament yet?"

Maya shook her head, "Not yet, I think it's later this week."

"Have you had yours?" Aegan asked. Velvet nodded.

Maya looked jokingly offended at her, "You didn't tell me!"

"It was yesterday, sorry I didn't see you till just now."

"How was it?" Nite asked, "What do you do?"

"Sometimes, you'll go to a pre-organised exam, I know some teams get picked just by someone watching them in the side-lines during combat class."

"Wait," Aegan began, "does that mean we may have already been assessed?"

"It's possible, though I would say it's unlikely."

A flash caught their eyes as Alden's Aura kick started and he shot up, his eyes snapping into focus as he looked around the room.

"I could have sworn I was in the ring a second ago…" he said scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

"You were." Maya said.

"but that means…" He rubbed his scalp "Oh my gods… again?"

"Yep," Maya said standing over him and offering him her hand, which he accepted and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Woah! Dizzy…"he said as he tried to regain his balance.

"We are so not going to get into Vytal at this rate…" Nite said looking at him.

"Hey! I resent that!" Alden said, "Look, I'm fine see?" He said finally standing straight.

"Take a step forward." Maya instructed.

Alden hesitantly stuck his foot forward and immediately collapsed to the ground. But as he quick as he was down, he had shot back to his feet, wobbling slightly on his soles.

"I'm good." He was met with his team laughing hysterically at him.

"You guys suck." He said with a smile on his face before slowly taking another step, happy this time as he kept his footing. He slowly took another step and was soon out of the medical wing.

"So," Aegan said, "Where we off to?"

"Library?" Maya suggested, "I've still got some revision I want to get done before Peach's test."

"I'm good with that." Nite said.

"You wanna' join us Velvet?" Maya asked.

Velvet paused for a second, "Sure? Why not? Professor Peach has a test lined up for me too."

They took a left around the corridor and headed up a big flight of stairs, before performing a U-turn and came down that corridor for a bit before pushing open the large oak double doors and entering the library. It was one of the biggest opened spaces in Beacon, (apart from outside of course.) filled to the brim with bookcase after bookcase, table after table.

The wondered down a few isles, trying to find a private spot, when they finally found one near the other side of the library, they all took a seat and brought activated the holographic projector in the centre of the table. Maya wondered off to grab some textbooks as Nite Brought various projections of the types of dust crystals to help in their revision.

Maya soon returned and slammed a massive pile of books down on the table.

"That is… far too many educational materials for my brain to digest today." Aegan said staring at the large paper tower.

"Yep, probably. But at least you can pick and choose." Maya said as she took the top one and opened it up to the section on dust before laying it at the centre of the table.

It was just as they quietened down that they heard a familiar voice from the isle next to theirs.

"Trap card."

Then the sound of collapsing metal.

"Your armies have been destroyed!" They could hear Yang saying smugly.

Then the sound of someone mock sobbing.

"Oh, I hate this game of emotions we play!"

Then a sound of someone rapidly shuffling off their seat.

"Stay strong Weiss! We can make it through this together!" Ruby wailed in a similar tone of voice.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!"

"What are they doing?" Maya asked, looking over her shoulder at the bookcase behind her.

"Remnant…" Alden said with a small smile on his face, "Oh, how many times have I tried to beat her at that game and how many times I've come out woefully disappointed."

Shutting out the commotion from the next isle, they quickly got absorbed into their work, discussing how exactly fire dust is able to combust much more strongly than its size would normally limit. Or how the molecular properties of lightning dust allowed it to conduct so easily.

After an hour, they started to tire out and Alden put his book down.

"I'm going to take a break for a bit." He was met several noises of confirmation from his friends. He pushed his chair back and stood, before stretching to the feeling back into his legs and back.

He wandered around to the other side of the bookcase to see most of team RWBY sprawled over the table, their notes covering most of its surface. Yang saw him approach and looked up.

"Hi Alden" she said wearily. Ruby waved over her shoulder, Weiss looked up and smiled in greeting.

"Having fun?" Alden asked.

"Lots." Ruby said sarcastically.

"Ah, it's not that bad." Alden said riffling her hair, "Look, your nearly at the end of the chapter." She hummed in confirmation.

Yang slid her chair back. "Hey Alden? Do you mind if we have a chat?" She asked, knocking her head off to the side to suggest away from the others.

"Yeah, sure." Alden said and he waited for Yang to get up and walk around the table.

They walked to the other side of the library, ducking behind a large bookshelf by the window and sat on its ledge so they would have somewhere private.

"What's on your mind?" Alden asked as they settled down.

Yang sighed as she looked at him. "I just wanted to make sure you're OK. I mean we haven't had one of these talks since the trip to forever fall and that's a concern in and of itself. But since then… you've been looking exhausted every day, and your still acting odd."

"What do you mean?" Alden asked.

"This!" Yang said gesturing to him, "That's what I mean! You've been acting like there's nothing wrong, but you've been twitchy. Every time I've seen you since the trip you've looked behind your shoulder _at least _twice!" She sighed again, "Even when we were back at Patch for the semester… that was weird… I mean… You've got those people… and they seem to be _hunting_ you! And I know there's more than that. Ozpin isn't helping you, you've been jumping at the slightest loud noise… What's going on Alden?" She pleaded.

Alden sighed and looked down, trying to figure a way to divert the conversation, to move it onto something else, like he had been doing mostly with his teammates. But then he looked back up. Yang was still staring at him; she wouldn't take anything less than the truth here.

"I…" Alden began, looking out the window. "I'm scared Yang…" he whispered, "That girl at forever fall said they would be back and I believe her, then there were those tracker Grimm's, and You could see for yourself how scared that Furla girl was of them." He took a shaky breath, "And I can't help but keep thinking, what if they go for my team? What if they go for mum and dad? What if they go for _Mary?_"

Yang nodded in understanding.

"There's more." Alden continued looking back at Yang, "I've been seeing this girl about, only twice now, but she looks like a ghost, and I've got this unshakeable feeling that she has something to do with this whole thing." He said gesturing with his hands. "And I've been getting these… visions, during my sleep and I'm not me, me. But they all feel like they _are_ me, but that can't be right. They all seem to carry a message, but I can never figure out what they're supposed to be about."

Yang put her hand on his shoulder. "Have you told your team about this?" She asked.

"Some, but not all of it."

"Why not?" She said frowning.

Alden smiled. "Yang, I've known you long enough now to know that even if I was a dribbling, insane mess, you would still be my friend. I just don't know what would happen if I turned around to them and said: "Hey! I'm hallucinating and seeing ghosts whilst having nightmares of slaughtering a bunch of innocent people! Will you be my friend?"

Yang laughed softly, "They have thrown themselves into the fray time and time again for you Alden, I think they would appreciate if they knew what was going through your mind. You need to learn to trust your team."

"I do trust them." Alden said instantly, Yang raised an eyebrow.

"I just don't want to lose them… not over something that may just be going through my head."

Yang smiled "You know… I've talked to Maya about the events of Forever Fall and Patch, she takes them _very_ seriously."

"Maybe," Alden said "But I doubt she really worries about all this as much as I do…"

"She does." Yang replied,

"I don't see her having nightmares about it."

Yang sighed and fished her scroll from their pocket, "I think they'll kill me if they knew I took a photo and showed you this but…" She tapped at the screen and handed it to Alden. Once he got a good look at it, he gasped:

The picture was mostly dominated by Maya, but he could make out Nite's and Aegan's clipped forms on the edge of the picture. It was taken from behind them, and they were too distracted to know Yang was there. They were sitting on a table in the library poring over various books, but the one Maya was looking at caught his eye: it's title was printed at the top of the page: _Myths, reconstructions, ideas and theories behind the stories of our most treasured fairy tales._ Below that written in a large bold print: _**The Black Siblings.**_

His eyes wondered on, Maya was writing on a piece of paper next to the book, it was a spider diagram, the central title labelled _The Black Siblings._ Around it was four arms linking off, each with different names and question marks: _**Eryel?**_ Said one, _**Mansell?**_ Was another, _**Furla?**_ Said the third and finally, the one that really caught his attention: _**Alden?**_ Each of them was connected with various sayings either Alden had told them or maybe from the books?

Alden's and Mansell's were connected with a line reading: "_Alden said Mansell had said they would __**reunited?**_ Known each other before? Family relation? _Or something we don't know yet? Fought with light or fire"_

Eryel's had a few lines of her own: "_Seemed to be the one in charge. At least was able to persuade Mansell to retreat. used Ice."_

Linking both Mansell and Eryel: "_how do their weapons work, no structure for dust to cling to, __**Semblance?**__"_

Furla's bubble wasn't connected to anyone: _"Seemed nice at least, didn't try to kill us, claimed to have been running for at least a year. Had a physical weapon, Semblance similar to Ruby? Specifically mentioned the word __**Rebelling.**__ According to Alden managed to accurately predict nightmares, said they were __**indoctrinating.**__"_

Alden's bubble was fairly cluttered: _"Ozpin said something about friends or family having a positive effect, __**Corrupting? **__Also mentioned about can die but coming back __**Several Lifetimes?**_ (was highlighted in different colours and underlined at least four times) Then there was a line stretching upwards with different check, each with a question mark by it.

In the corner was the word "**OZPIN**" surrounded by it's own lines: _"doesn't trust Alden, or us by extension, though would prefer to keep him here, even against strong opposition form a general of the world's greatest military power." _Though underlined next to it was the saying: _**"Keep your enemies closer?" **_

"W… what?" Alden stuttered, "They… They've been trying to figure this out!?"

Yang nodded, "Told you, that you need to trust them more." She reached over and swiped left to reveal a video recording and tapped the play button.

"_Multiple lifetimes… really?" _Aegan could be heard saying, Alden recognised this as the same scene as in the picture. Just from further away, Yang obviously didn't want to be noticed.

"_It does kind of make sense…" _Nite said

"_If we could just find one of these…"_ Maya said tapping of the question marks on the dashed lines. _"Then it could confirm the theory, and if that is confirmed it would explain how they were talking about reuniting, because it would mean that they have actually met before, just not in… this lifetime. Which is… really weird."_

"_But it would explain a lot." _Aegan said.

"_But even then... what does all of this mean?" _Nite asked.

"_That our fellow team member is quite the mystery… Though I just wish he would talk to us more about it…" _Maya said.

"_I don't blame him," _Nite said _"Every time something links to this, I can feel it off him, he's terrified, both of that, but you've seen how he acts sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks that we'll think he's crazy… I would be the same in his position."_

"_So are you saying we just need to confront him about it? Show him we want to help?" _Aegan asked.

"_Gods no!"_ Nite replied, _"You know how he acts when something accidentally comes up, directly confronting him when he's not prepared would be like taking someone with a phobia of scorpions to meet your pet Deathstalker!" _The video ended there.

"You see?" Yang asked, "You've got… one of the nicest most amazing teams out there to jump headfirst into this mess for you. Just please… talk to them."

Alden sighed and nodded, his head whirling with this barrage of new information, "Yeah… Yeah, I will."

Yang smiled "Great!" And then pulled him into a hug. When she pulled back, she punched him _hard_ in the arm. Alden yelped and grabbed the rapidly forming bruise.

"What was that for!?"

"That. Was for doubting Maya, I've talked to Velvet about her, that girl got bullied so much during combat school for being a Faunus that you should feel honoured that you are amongst the _two_ humans she would do this for."

Alden immediately knew the other one Yang was talking about was Nite, and he _did_ feel honoured. He had completely underestimated their faith in him, believing it to be next to nothing in the great grand scheme of things… only to find it next to infinite. He would have to pay them back for their trust… in full.

"Thanks Yang." Alden said, She smiled.

"Any time," She looked at her scroll, "We need to get back, Goodwitch's class starts soon." They stood up and exited their private spot before heading back to the assembling clump of their friends, Ruby was happily chatting to Nite about something and Maya was showing Weiss some of her notes. They stood up and started packing stuff into their bags when they saw Yang and Alden approaching.

"Everything alright?" Maya asked.

"Yeah." Alden said, smiling his first proper smile in over a week, "We need to have a chat later."

"Oh?" She queried, "What about?"

"Later." Was all Alden said as he swung his rucksack onto his back, and they all headed for the door.

**Hi everyone! Happy new year! Hope you all enjoyed the Christmas period, and to wrap it all off (or to start it up) we've had a happy chapter! (mostly) If you enjoyed this calmer chapter, or the story in general please consider writing me a PM or review about your thoughts and ideas, I'd love to hear from you!.**

**Join us next time, for a confrontation/ clash with team CRDL and Dannis returns and the hunt begins for Tukson's killers, so I hope you'll return for Vol 2. Ch 5: The Hunt begins!**

**Until then!**

**Etherway**


	16. Vol 2 Ch 5: The Hunt Begins

Vol 2. Ch 5: The hunt begins

The streets were dark, in this part of town only a few flickering lampposts were the only source of light. Even the reflected light of the moon didn't seem to reach down here. A few groups of individuals could be seen crawling around looking out for any lone individual that could make easy pickings.

However, the only lone individual that could be found was left well alone. The hooded figure travelled with a purpose and had an air of danger so severe that most of the street gangs left them well alone. The only one that tried, attempted to ambush them in a pitch-black alleyway, hoping to take them by surprise. A minute later the figure was seen leaving the alleyway. In it no one was left, no bodies, no objects, the only hint was a large blood stain on the wall.

The figure continued onwards, one step in front of the other and even the light seemed to cower in their presence and the moon hid its ashamed face behind a cloud, casting a shadow where they tread. They soon reached their destination, following under the large steel girders that criss crossed the streets. And under the view of the large arched windows of the building. The ground hummed under the soundwaves of the music blaring from inside.

The large double doors were shoved open and the figure wandered inside, the music blasting in their face as their eyes scanned across the dancing crowds, the crowds talking and the few collapsed bodies of those who had just a tad to much to drink. Their hands came up to their face and pulled down the hood as her brownish-red hair tumbled down her back. Her sharp features and incredible blue eyes drew the attention of many, but the dangerous flash of her eyes made them all stay far away. She walked down the steps, the crowd parting before her, none wanting to draw her attention.

One however was drunk or stupid, most knew it was both. He stalked up behind her and grabbed her waist.

"Hey sweetheart…" he hiccupped in her ear, "What do you say we…" He trailed off when he looked down to see an unusually bright dagger thrust right up to the apex of his neck. His hands immediately disconnected and rose in a surrender stance and vey slowly backed off. Contented, she let girl of the dagger and it seemed to shatter and dissipated in mid-air. She turned and continued onwards; the clack of her shoes somehow audible even over the roar of the music.

She ascended the few steps on the other side. And approached the bar, ignoring the stares from the twins leaning up against the wall on the corner. She swung her leg over the stool and settled down. Slipping off the cloak around her shoulder to reveal her scarlet jacket. The man across the bar stared at her wearily. She pointed at a bottle on the shelf and the barman next to her conversation partner hurriedly poured her a drink and placed it in front of her, never asking for payment.

The man she was here for stood across from her and folded his arms across the surface, with just enough confidence to stare her in the eye.

"Eryel." Junior said carefully, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Eryel huffed in delight, a smirk pulling at her lips. "Skip the formalities junior… we are friends are we not?"

"Fine then," he said, "what do you want from me?" Eryel chuckled.

"This time, Junior, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that I am to give freely."

Junior snorted "yeah right, when do you ever "give freely?" There's always a catch with you."

"Not this time, you've been so helpful in the information you have provided me, and I help my friends, I'm not _that_ bad." Junior said nothing and just stared at her.

Eryel swivelled on her seat and nodded to a group of white masked individuals sitting around a table near the back of the club. "See them?" She asked, Junior nodded. "There regulars to your little club, right?" Again, Junior nodded. "So, I'll give you a little heads up, they've done some pretty nasty things, and they're being hunted down, and they _will_ find them here. Do with that information as you wish." She said as she downed her drink.

"Who are hunting them?" Junior asked, Eryel ignored him. As she made a move to stand up her wrist was grabbed by Junior.

"How many?" he asked worriedly.

"Hmmm, I'd say five, tops."

"Five?" Eryel nodded. Junior sighed, "Good… Then my boys can take them." He said like he was trying to convince himself more than her.

"mmmm… maybe." Eryel said as she stalked off.

"Wait! What was that supposed to mean? You mean they aren't cops?" Junior called after her. But she was already gone…

As she left the building someone pushed themselves off the wall and matched pace with her.

"And what good did that do?" Mansell asked as they turned the corner and headed towards the centre of Vale.

"Well, I felt like it was wrong if we left him in the dark… And if he's taken out in the chaos that's bound to happen then that's just another loose end tied up" Eryel said as she tied her cloak around her neck.

"I don't like how liberal you are with your risks, why don't we just storm into Beacon and smash his face in, it's not like he's hiding." Eryel stopped in her tracks and stared her brother in the eye.

"Look, we can't do a direct approach as long as he has that empath girl around, she will be able to sense us long before we even get remotely close."

"Then what are we doing?" Mansell growled and kicked a can lying on the ground so hard it sailed into a third story window, shattering it.

"Like we've always done, we follow just in front of him, move him where we want him and make it go wrong. We get him to question himself so much that he won't trust himself around his friends, any one of them make it dangerous on an approach, they know about us now and they're on the lookout. Ozpin doesn't trust him but still has him under his protection."

Mansell just stared at her, "And…?"

Eryel smirked and stared at the towering spires of Beacon in the distance. "I've been in contact with her. She already has someone on the inside for her own purposes, and mutual benefits will mean that soon…. Soon we won't even have to worry about Beacon at all."

"And without Beacon…" Mansell began to cotton on.

"The populace will panic. And when people panic…"

"They can be easily manipulated…." Mansell finished

"Exactly, we can play Alden right into our hands. We just need him to realise his power, and then it will only be a manner of time. Then we just need to convince or kill Furla, whatever comes first. Don't panic Mansell, we have them _right_ where we want them…."

As they were talking, another shadow lurked on top of a rooftop, listening… They had heard enough, they turned and leapt onto another rooftop. They had work to do.

Alden jumped over an explosion at his feet and rolled to absorb the fall. He looked up and blinked, appearing on the lighting girder. He looked down to see Aegan dive out the way of several huge icicles and aimed his grapple at him, wrapping around his arm and tried to swing him behind their opponents: The Woodcock twins. Aegan sailed through the air and Alden pulled up as he disengaged the hard-light dust flipping Aegan higher into the air as he pulled his weight over backwards, firing down over his head with his pistols.

Alden blinked between the pair and swung his blades in a wide arc, but was blocked by Olivia's Pike, He blinked away before Arleen could take a swing at his head. As he gained distance Aegan took a few pot-shots from afar to get their attention, but only served to split them up. Alden smiled, he retreated further causing Arleen to move further away from her sister. He shuffled back faster as Arleen took off into a run at him. He suddenly stopped when he felt his foot was hanging halfway off the ring and allowed Arleen to tackle him.

As they went souring off the edge Alden twisted them in mod air and kicked off- separating them and focused his Aura once again the air rippling as Arleen suddenly realised what he had done. Alden vanished in a flash of purple as Arleen crashed down outside the ring. Alden flickered back just behind Olivia and swung her legs out from under her and swung his fist round, Tempest's blades retracted and he pulled the trigger at the last second, the explosion rocketing Olivia out the edge of the ring nearby, the resulting claxon calling an end to the fight.

"That is an end to the match: MANA beats NOVA by knockout." Professor Goodwitch said, "I would pay attention to that fight everyone, it was an excellent demonstration of how effective splitting up combatants is, though it does not go without saying it was made vastly easier by Alden's semblance. You will do well to remember that tactic if you get into the Vytal." She said whilst looking at Alden and Aegan who was helping the twins up and shaking their hands.

The Professor checked the time on her scroll, "Well that concludes are lesson for today, everyone is dismissed." The room as filled with standing and chatting students as Alden returned to grab his bag.

"What was that?" He could hear Neera call jokingly.

"You try and fight someone who can zap himself around the room and see how it goes!" Arleen said back.

"Just challenge him to a fight without semblances, he'll lose within seconds" Maya told them as they left the aisle and walked for the door. "It's all he's got going for him, bless him." She teased.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Alden said.

Maya turned to face him, "And how have those gone for you so far?" She said with that evil twinkle in her eye, Alden winced as he remembered all the sore backs he had endured since Yang told her about his weakness to no semblance fighting.

"Not that well…" He admitted. She smiled in victory.

"Thought so." She said as they continued onwards.

"Doesn't mean I won't keep trying." Alden said.

"I'm hungry." Aegan said whilst hanging upside down from the edge of his bed. Maya rolled her eyes.

"Well with that hit you took from Arleen I'm not surprised." She said. Aegan shot her a mock disdainful look.

"And what would _you _do then?" He asked.

"I don't know… maybe… step sideways? It wasn't like you had no time to dodge."

"I didn't know she was there!"

"You've got wolf ears! Use them!" Maya laughed from her corner. Aegan fell silent, he couldn't trump that one. He grumbled to himself as he rolled over onto his feet and got up.

"I'm getting some food, anyone want anything?"

"I'll come with" Nite said hopping up from her bed.

"I'll be down in as sec, just finishing this paragraph." Alden said looking up from his notes.

"Same here." Maya said.

"Right, see you in a few minutes." Aegan said as he and Nite left their room.

Alden looked out the window, the horizon was just starting to tint orange as afternoon turned to evening, causing Maya's hair to flash in a bright orange, which reminded him of something.

He looked around the room, wondering where it was likely to be kept, he looked to one of the many bookshelves. They could have put it within a page of a book, that would take a long time to find, and not very conspicuous either. He also debated the fact that they didn't _really_ know how to hide things and were more likely to assume that if he never knew about it then he wouldn't look. His eyes then landed at the top draw of Maya's desk, there was a likely place if he ever saw one.

He got up and walked across the room, Maya never even looked up to see what he was doing. He opened the draw and beneath some textbooks and other stationary was a large piece of folded paper, bingo.

He pulled it out and folded it onto her desk, his eyes scanning across the several spider diagrams he had seen earlier on Yang's phone. It seemed so much weightier now he had seen it in the flesh, it was a jumbled, barely understandable mess of notes, which accurately represented their situation. But he had never expected them to have found and remembered so much.

Looking down at it just made it clear how confusing the whole situation had been so far, with the appearance of Mansell and Eryel. The weird not so violent confrontation with Furla and then Ozpin. Considering how rapid the events had happened from each other, he could only wonder: what, and when next?

"What are you do… oh…" Maya said as she looked up and noticed what he was looking at.

Alden shook his head whilst looking at it. "I… I didn't know you guys…" words began to fail him.

Maya slowly got up and stood nearby her tail gently twitching nervously.

"I'm sorry," she said "We didn't know if you wanted to think about it too much, we didn't mean…"

"No," Alden interrupted, He knew he had seen it on Yang's scroll, but seeing it in the flesh was an entirely different experience. "I didn't know you guys were so interested in it, or even thought it was a bad as I thought it was."

"Why didn't you think we would help?" Maya asked.

"Well _look_." Alden said gesturing to the notes on the desk, "If I told anyone else, they would think I've gone mad."

Maya looked down at the desk and slowly nodded, "Ok, fair enough. I suppose I haven't told anyone else for that reason."

"Exactly." Alden said.

"Well, we're now going to have to talk all of this out," She said, gesturing to the desk, "but we're going to need the others."

"Yep," a growl resounded from his stomach "and I'm starving. We can go find them, and talk afterowards." Alden said and made for the door. Maya just behind. It didn't take them long to reach one of the large doors leading into the huge dinging hall.

Just as they entered the dining hall, they could feel something was not right. They could hear Cardin shouting an insult at someone, and as they turned the corner, they realised that someone, was Aegan. He took in his stride and said something back, but Alden couldn't hear what he said.

Cardin growled and then punched Aegan in the gut who doubled over.

The hall suddenly filled with noise as people were trying to figure out what had happened, to their left Alden could see their friends standing up, moving to intervene. Maya however was not waiting.

She triggered her semblance and took off at a run, her eyes locking on Cardin as he moved to hit Aegan again, who had not recovered from the attack. She could see his fist in motion, but she got their first.

Her fist slammed into his side as she continued running, slamming her momentum through her fist. Cardin stumbled, not expecting the attack. As she ran past she hooked her foot around his ankle, pulling his feet from underneath him, her tail flexed to give her extra balance as she jumped onto the bench and spun as she stepped onto the table before slamming her fist into Cardin's face as he was falling. Sending him smashing to the ground.

Maya reappeared, standing on the table, her tail flicking furiously, Cardin shook his head dazed and rolled over to face her with a bloody nose. He slowly staggered to his feet as Aegan managed to catch his breath.

"I told you I can make it a lot worse." She growled with her arms crossed. "Do not make me have to make good on that promise."

Alden looked at Maya's face, Cardin hadn't just made her livid, they had a history. But she hadn't told him they had met before.

Cardin just wiped his nose and stared back at her. "I'd like to see you try." He hissed and made a move to jump up at the table. As he left the ground, Maya's tail went ridged out behind her and she jumped, pushing her feet into his shoulders and pushed, flipping across to the other table while causing Cardin to crash into the table where she stood.

The rest of Cardin's team seemed to follow his example and surrounded Nite who was on the other side of the hall.

Alden's fists clenched as his eyes locked onto Russel, he blinked just in time to catch his fist aimed at Nite's back as she was locked with Dove, he twisted his wrist and bent his arm behind his back, pushing his foot into the crook of his knee, forcing Russel to kneel.

He looked up to see Maya and Cardin on top of a table, Cardin took a swing for her head, but she ducked and stepped inside his guard before slamming her knee up between his legs with a sickening crunch. Alden winced as Cardin screamed out in pain, she had torn through his Aura already and was definitely taking no prisoners. She swiped his legs again and he went smashing to the floor, Maya calmly walked up to him and planted her foot on his neck.

He looked the other way to see that Dove and sky had been distracted by their leaders defeat which meant Aegan and Nite were easily able to floor them.

The room went silent as MANA finished up. But in that silence the echoing sound of boots could be heard, from the shadow of the corridor a figure approached, most likely a member of staff. Alden internally sighed, they were definitely getting into trouble.

"They just attacked us!" Cardin said from his position on the floor, his hands covering his groin. Alden shook his head and smirked to himself, Cardin may be a good fighter, but he was spineless.

"Did they now?" Alden heard Dannis say. His head shot up. Everyone in the room took a step back, due to the recent dust robberies, everyone knew who Dannis was. "All I saw you attacking one of your fellow students." He said as he smiled at Maya who was nearest to him.

"But…" Cardin began to say but was interrupted by Maya squeezing just a little harder with her foot.

"Someone get them to the infirmary" Dannis said and Maya released them and a few of CRDL friends escorted them out the room and soon got louder as conversation resumed. Dannis walked up to them.

"That was impressive, we're going to need that. We need to talk. Preferably in private." He said.

"Our rooms the best place for that." Maya said eyeing him with slight suspicion, they're initial objective involving finding the rest of the team forgotten about for now. MANA went about quickly grabbing some packaged sandwiches to bring with them as they would miss dinner and led Dannis back to their room in the dormitory wing.

The members of MANA were sat on their respective beds as Dannis took Alden's desk chair and span it, so he was sitting against the wall. He fished out his scroll from his pocket and tapped a few times before a holographic figure appeared above it, wearing a light grey hoodie and pristine white mask.

"You will recognise them from a few days ago." Dannis said resting the figure on the ground as it expanded to full size. Maya nodded, a grimm expression on her face.

"They have proven to be extremely difficult to track down, I have far from everything, but it's a start." He pressed a button on his scroll and three more similar looking figures appeared.

"These are all the descriptions I've managed to pry out of police sightings that aren't classified."

"_Classified?_" Alden asked.

Dannis nodded, "I know more in the force have seen people like them, but when I asked anyone, they very quickly denied any sightings. When the White-Fang turned violent the whole police was on alert, these… they're being covered up."

"I thought they were shady a few days ago." Alden said "This just keeps getting better. Why the masks? Why the cloak and dagger? Do they have a name?"

Dannis shook his head, "They don't advertise that's for sure."

"So how are they recruited?" Maya asked, "Could that be a way in?"

"Maybe, but I don't think they take just anyone, it smells of mercenaries to me."

"But when Tukson was killed, it was by a hunter wasn't it? And they mentioned the white fang." Nite said.

"Exactly." Dannis replied, "They have a very obvious link to the white fang, but they seem to have no part in it. The most important note there, is that most are human."

"White fang sympathisers then?" Aegan suggested.

"Possibly, but to cutthroat to just be a sympathiser group, these guys have the manpower, and the money."

"So, what do we do about it?" Maya asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Dannis said and tapped his scroll again, the figures were replaced with a map of the city, one particular road was blinking red. "The few reports I found often mentioned Regal street, I don't know if we'll find anything. But it's a start."

"When do we get going then?" Maya asked.

"As soon as you eat and get dressed into something less conspicuous." Dannis said, Eyeing Nite's bright turquoise shirt. He stood up and put the chair back. "I'll meet you out the front when you're done, there's a bullhead waiting for us.

They nodded and Dannis left the room.

"Right then," Maya said. "Suit up."

"You know, I'm actually surprised Dannis came back, I honestly thought that was just a trick to get us to stay." Maya told Alden as travelled through Beacon's main lobby. She like the rest of them had swapped out her brighter clothes for darker ones, with a short black leather jacket and a grey shirt, replacing her usual bright brown woolly jacket.

"Told you he wold deliver," Alden said, "Remember he was a huntsman student too, he won't let us down." Alden had taken the simple approach of throwing a jumper over his shirt to cover up the bright purple emblem, but it still allowed him to use the dust in his clothing if things got ugly.

"It really is suspicious if the police are trying to cover this up isn't it?" Nite asked, her usual turquoise shirt replace with a darker maroon version.

"But if it is, why is Dannis investigating it?" Aegan asked, following Alden's tactic of putting on a darker jumper over his usual attire

"Because he's too good at his own job, if there's something wrong, then he'll investigate it, whether his superiors tell him to or not." Alden said as the large double doors opened allowing them outside. The sun had completely gone down, with only the horizon being a faint amber as a reminder of its departure. Above them the moon gleamed, drafting them in a soft silver light.

As they rounded the fountain, they could make out the dark hunched shape of a bullhead on the landing pad with a few silhouettes gathered around its hold. Dannis noticed their approach and excused himself from his current conversation.

"I know the looks I'm about to get, but I have to say it now. Do not feel inclined you have to come, this is completely unofficial, and we'll have no support apart from each other if this goes south. If any of you don't not want to be involved, you won't be judged."

The members of team MANA nodded, but not one took a step back.

"So, we ready to go?" Maya asked.

"We're all here, get them on Dannis, times a' wasting." A voice called from inside the Bullhead. They looked over Dannis' shoulder to see a dark-haired woman sticking her head out from the side of the bullhead.

Alden waved "Hi Racheal" he called.

"Alden!" She said, "Glad you can come along for the ride!"

They all piled into the hold of the Bullhead and looked around. Alden recognised everyone in the hold, there were of course Dannis and Racheal, which meant things couldn't go that badly considering they had half a fully trained huntsman team on their side. Also, he recognised Tally and Diver, as well as the other six policemen and women in the hold, all from the encounter outside Tukson's shop.

None were wearing police uniforms.

Alden's suspicions about what they were doing rose.

As the engines roared to life and the Bullhead gently lifted off the platform, he turned to Dannis:

"What we're doing tonight… it isn't exactly… legal, is it?" He asked.

"I'm not going to lie, it isn't. But after what we saw a few days ago, this is too dangerous to let go unanswered. But I'm not sure if you've noticed that everyone here is from that fight, no one agrees with why it's been classified at such a high level, so we need to find out what's going on."

The Bullhead's engines rotated, and it began drifting forward.

Nite looked at Racheal, "You were on Alden's parent's team, right?"

Racheal nodded, "Aye, those were good days, back when MORD was going strong." She said with a look of happy recollection on her face.

"So, what do you do now?" Aegan asked, "Marcus and Ogora retired, Dannis joined the police, what are you?"

"I'm a huntress for hire," She said, "I can get by on the odd job here and there, and I'm always ready to help Dannis when things get a bit… off the book, you could say."

"Like now?" Maya asked

"Exactly."

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Dannis called over the chatter inside the Bullhead, everyone quietened down so that only the hum of the engines could be heard. Dannis pressed a button and a holographic screen appeared in the middle of the hold, showing a map.

"We're landing on the other side of town, so I'll make this quick." He said as their target road highlighted itself in red. "This is the target, it's in an abandoned part of town, so don't worry about being seen. As you can see there are three exits, at the North, South, and East sides. So, we'll split into three teams: Team one, will cover the North entrance, using these buildings for cover. Team two will cover the South, inside this walkway between these buildings, it's got the best line of sight, but they'll be the least Mobile. Team Three will cover the East entrance, but these buildings are disused so they can be used for cover, everyone understand?"

He was met with nods from those in the police. Satisfied he then turned to Maya, "Since this is unofficial, I can't order your team, but I hope you'll agree to my plan. After seeing what you did a few days ago, you and Alden make for excellent rapid reaction, so I would like you two here on this building," He said pointing to a roof overlooking the street, "If things go south you need to come in guns blazing, but otherwise stay out of sight. I would like Nite and Aegan to join team 1, they're the closet and if anything goes wrong, in the greatest danger, if Nite's shield is reliable then she'll prove invaluable if they're targeted, which would allow Aegan to disentangle and hit anyone from the side. Do you agree?"

Maya examined the map closely, if anything did go wrong, she realised Dannis had planned this around their semblances, well… All part Aegan's as he hadn't seen his. She hadn't realised how important they were to this plan.

"Ok makes sense, where are you and Racheal?"

"We'll be in team three," Racheal said, "If team one is engaged then we'll be in a flanking position, or ready to act as rapid reinforcement."

"Damn, you're taking this seriously." Aegan said studying the map.

"I've done off the book moves before, they aren't often nothing to worry about, there's no such thing as too prepared in a move like this." Dannis said. "So, does everyone know their teams and positions?" He was met with more nods. He smiled "Good," He tapped the screen once and several blips appeared on the map corresponding with a number of a team. "These are our landing zones, they're far enough away so that it won't draw attention, and then you're on foot from there. Maya and Alden, you're up first."

The side of the Bullhead opened, and the roar of the engines flooded the hold. The engines spun down and the Bullhead began to decelerate. Once it stopped Maya and Alden lined up and jumped from the side, hair being tussled from the thrust of the jets. Under the cover of the noise of the Bullhead which wasn't that uncommon around these parts, they landed on a roof silently and looked up as the bullhead departed to its second drop site. All that was left when it was gone was the soft glow of the moon, and the soft whistling of the wind on the roof tiles.

"We need to go that way." Maya said, her face barely visible in the light, the only easily discernible parts of her was the moonlight reflecting from her eyes, and the brighter colours of her hair and tail. They headed out, jumping from one rooftop to the next, and climbing over various chimney breasts along the way.

Alden missed timed a jump and scrambled as he lost his hand hold on the next roof. Just as he began to plummet, he was jarred to a stop as he felt a hand grp his wrist. He looked up to see that Maya had twisted on the ledge and had managed to catch him.

"Hurry up," She winced "you're heavy."

Alden focused to the top of the roof and blinked, vanishing from her grip and appearing at the rooftop. He leaned down and offered her his hand, she gripped it and he helped to pull her up. They were near their position. They looked up to see the faint silhouette of the bullhead descending several blocks away…

The doors on either side opened, Nite peeked over the edge, they weren't that high. She jumped and rolled as she hit the ground, trying to dissipate her downwards velocity. Aegan landed next to her with his usual grace and the pair looked up to see four ropes hanging down from the bullhead with people rappelling down them. Once the group had assembled, the ropes were rapidly wound up and the Bullhead moved onwards

They headed down the street, with the non-huntsman of the group clutching their rifles tightly, constantly checking sightlines. They darted from shadow to shadow, with Aegan using his enhanced vision to check the windows on the opposite side of the street to make sure they weren't spotted. Soon they come across a junction in the street and Aegan held his hand up causing them to stop.

"What is it?" Tally whispered; he was nervously glancing across the street.

"I don't see anything" Diver said. She too was scanning the buildings

"That's because you're not a Faunus idiot." Tally hissed.

Nite shushed them and crouched beside Aegan.

"No, there's nothing there." He whispered but gestured to the corner of the building, "But that's our spot," He looked back to the others, "Set up here." The group split in half, taking up position the shadows of the buildings on either side of the street, Weapons pointing down range. But in the darkness of the street, it was difficult to see anything.

"What do you see?" She asked, hoping he had a better look.

"There are two people standing outside a building in the middle of the street, they're to still to be there normally, they're standing guard."

"Ok…" Nite said as she thought the situation over, "Do you see the other teams?"

"Team two is the that elevated walkway over there." He said pointing, he could just make out the silhouettes of three individuals crouched by a window. "I won't be able to see team three from here, but there haven't been any noises to suggest they are in trouble." He said as his ears were strained high above his head. He looked higher and scanned the rooftop, he could just make out Maya waving down at them, next to her he could see the crouched form of Alden, scanning the street. They were just across from the building where the strangers were standing. "Maya and Alden are up there."

He made sure he had Maya's attention and gestured in the general direction of where team three should be to see if she could see them. She raised her arm and opened her palm, which was the signal for yes.

"So, what do we do now?" Nite said.

"We wait for a bit, see if anything changes." Aegan said. And motioned for the rest of their team to hold position.

The street felt like it was choking on its own silence. Nothing moved, and barely a sound could be heard. Aegan could just a about see Alden blink to the other side of the street to have a poke around and see if there was anything they could have missed. Aegan's ears pricked up when they heard the sound of an engine, Alden quickly blinked back to his original position as Aegan realised the sound was coming from behind them.

"Hide!" he hissed, and they all scuttled for cover behind large dumpsters, and inside doorframes. Aegan peeked out to see the lights of a van cut through the murky stillness of the night. It was dark grey and unmarked. Aegan counted his lucky stars as it passed without noticing them, but it turned the corner and headed down the street towards the guards. It came to a stop outside and the rear doors opened. A figure came stumbling out, flanked by two more guards, one holding his shoulder, the other pointing his gun at him. Aegan strained his eyes further, the man had a sack over his head, and was swiftly escorted into the building.

To his left he could see the emerging silhouettes of team three, with Dannis and Racheal at the lead, mostly successful in their attempt to cling to the shadows, but easily visible to his Faunus eyes. A light thrumming alerted him to another engine properly, but there was no way of warning them in time as another van appeared from the other side of the road, its lights illuminating where most of team three were.

Sudden shouts of alarm could be hear, rapidly succeeded by the opening gunshots of the evening.

"Well then," Aegan said, "Subtlety is out." Return fire sounded throughout the street, their team soon joined the fray, levelling their rifles at targets who weren't in cover form their angle and opening fire.

They were instantly noticed, and as more masked individuals climbed from out the back of the van, they were soon under fire themselves. Nite outstretched her hand, reaching out in her mind she felt the swirling angry mass of anger and terror rampaging through all individuals of the conflict. That energy materialised and spiralled out from her hand, rippling as many bullets slammed into it but could not be penetrated.

"Find cover!" She called as their team scattered behind concrete bollards. She smiled as she could feel their enemy getting more irritated with her shield, with their more intense energy she could make her shield stronger, with the red mostly replacing the black. Once her team was safe, she collapsed the shield into one large, very angry spear and hurled it towards the van, her energy pushed it onwards at it blasted forward, leaving a shockwave in its wake. When it smashed into the van it detonated, spraying shrapnel in all directions, but they were too far away to be in danger form it.

From the other side of the street team two opened into the backs of the masked people, cutting several down within a few seconds. The rest, realising they were outdone slowly retreated back into the building, smashing out windows and poking their guns out them from above.

A cloud drifted over the face of the moon, blocking its light to the street below as it was bathed in darkness, even Aegan struggled to see much beyond the occasional flashing from the muzzle of a gun.

Meanwhile on top of the roof Maya and Alden were observing the gunfight below.

"We need to get inside there, find that prisoner." Maya said staring at the building across.

"And how do you plan on doing that? Unless it's literally smash down the front door." Alden said from beside her, keeping a careful eye out on the rest of their team to make sure they were ok, he had never seen Nite use her semblance aggressively before, but he was impressed.

"Get us onto its roof, I'll climb down the other side and look through the window's see if I can spot them."

Alden nodded "Should work, ok, hold on." He said holding out his arm. Maya clung to his sleeve and with a flash the were on top of the building. They could feel the vibrations from the gunfire through the roof.

"Ok," The empty space beside him said, "I'll have a look, back in a second." He could hear Maya's voice trailing off as she approached the ledge of the roof and began to climb down.

Maya dropped and gripped onto the first ledge and peaked through the window, she nearly jumped out of her skin. In front of her was one of the masked men, staring directly at her. She had to constantly remind herself that he couldn't see her. He soon turned and walked off, allowing her to see inside the room, nothing but more masked, all quickly talking to each other in hushed tones, with rifles gripped in their hands.

She moved to the next window over, the room was completely empty, void of any person or object. A shout from below her drew her attention. She quickly dropped down to have a look, inside strapped to a chair was a man with a sack ties around his neck, he looked like he was being interrogated, with a woman standing in front of him, wearing a similar blank mask, with several more masked stationed around the room, each with weapons. Maya quickly scrambled up to see Alden staring down over the other side of the building to see how the fight was going.

"There on the second floor down." Maya said behind him, making him jump and spin around. Maya grinned to herself and then let her semblance wain. Alden huffed and rolled his eyes.

"How many?" he asked.

"A few, but less than ten." Alden nodded.

"Ok, we can deal with that, which room?"

"Middle, second floor down.", Maya said as Alden lined up.

"What are you doi…?" Maya began to ask as Alden sprinted and then jumped off the roof. As he began to fall, he twisted, and levelled a gauntlet at a chimney to the side of Maya, He fired his grapple, the hard-light dust wrapping around the concrete and pulling him in. The next second, he was smashing feet first through the window.

Alden rolled to a stop, and aimed his gauntlets in both direction and fire, the room illuminating in orange as the fireballs burned their way through the air, leaving the smell of burnt ozone in their trail. Two of the masked collapsed in screams as their armour melted under the fire dust, as more levelled their weapons at Alden. He flashed purple and vanished, reappearing next to a stunned masked in the corner. Alden punched him in the gut as his gauntlet fired flinging him up in the air as Alden jumped, spinning and then punched down, firing the man several floors down, through the wooden floorboards, resulting in several cracking noises and screams of alarm.

He turned to see a gun pointed directly at his head, but before he could blink way they twitched, before flying across the other side of the room, taking out two more with him. He grinned as the others had no idea what was going on. One by one the masked seem to fly round the room, as if an invisible force was throwing them about… Which there was.

Finally, there was only the interrogator left, who tried to flee as those under her command were brutally outmatched. Alden blinked before she could get to the door and grabbed her by the back of her shirt whilst holding the blade of Tempest across her neck. He felt her freeze, but he could still see her moving her arm towards her waist, he quickly checked and saw a dagger resting on her hip.

He grabbed its hilt just as the door smashed open as another of the masked individuals appeared through the splinters. Alden pulled his arm back, drawing the dagger with him and hurled it through the door. The dagger hit but ricocheted off his Aura. Not missing a beat as he was stunned by the impact, Alden rested both of his gauntlets over his captor's shoulders and fired, just as another fire dust projectile past over his shoulder. The triple shots slammed into him as his Aura flickered, shattered and then he was thrown backwards against the wall in the hallway.

He looked down, to see that his captive had found another weapon on her person whilst he was distracted and blinked away before she could ram the blade into his abdomen. Before he could react further however he heard a loud "Thwack!" and she stumbled before collapsing on the floor.

Further down they could here more shouts and screams accompanied by gunfire as the other teams started pushing into the building. Over the noise could be heard the growling of Nite's chain sword. Good, they were in. Maya shimmered into view beside him.

"You Ok?" She asked, Alden nodded, keeping a close eye on the collapsed form of the interrogator, just in case she woke and tried something else. Maya walked over to the man in the chair and cut the ties on the sack before pulling it off.

The man flinched in the light and when Maya moved round to his back and cut his hands free he used them to cover his eyes from the glare.

"Wh- What trick is this? I told you, I've already told you everything!" He shuddered as he brought both hands to cover his face and he sniffed. "I've done enough! Just let my girl go!" he sobbed as Maya knelt down before him.

"We're not with them, your safe now."

His head shot up and looked at Maya, studying her face.

"B-but if you're not with them…" He shuddered again, "N-no you don't understand, of they find out they'll kill her! No this can't happen, whatever your doing you have to stop!" He began to hyperventilate in his panic. Maya grabbed his shoulders to steady him and he looked back up.

"I need you to take some breaths okay? Just focus on that for a second, can you do that? Watch me, match my breath." She managed to coach him to calm down and his breathing steadied.

"Now, who is in danger?"

"M- My daughter, th- they took her, made me- me…"

"It's alright, don't think about that right now. Do you know where your daughter is?"

The man took a few calming breaths, "No, not really. They were keeping us underground, but I don't know where…"

"I'll go first." Nite said staring at the door, with several bullet holes puckered through it.

"Is it safe? I mean they'll shoot the moment that door moves." Tally said, from his cover behind a concrete block.

"Exactly," Racheal said from beside the door, gripping her weapons and peeking though the side window. "That's exactly why she should go first," She looked at Nite "We'll be right behind you."

Nite nodded and stood from her cover as her shield formed, A few bullets pinged off it from the window above but caused no harm. She could feel the aggression of those insides, the writhing tides if desperate hate, above them she could make out more from the dull mass of the building: One of absolute sorrow and desperation, she had to stop and breathe for a second to get her own emotions in check, it was a familiar emotion that. Beyond was two other blobs, of sympathy but still had a under aggressive tone, likely from the adrenaline rush of combat, most likely Alden and Maya, it seemed they had broken in from the top.

Shaking her head to rid the distractions she pushed forward, the unrelenting energy of the shield slammed the door off its hinges. They could hear shouts of alarm from the inside. Nite peaked in: there was a long corridor with several rooms off to either side, at the end was a large staircase leading up. Between them and the stairs however where over a dozen guns pointing in her direction.

Her shield flicked under the hail of bullets and she fought to keep control of herself to keep the shield up. But she didn't have to worry for long. Racheal took to her side and flung one of her weapons: a large, hollow disc which spun and bounced off the wall before igniting and covering itself in fired dust, leaving a blazing contrail as it ricocheted off the walls and slamming into the asked individuals.

Bang from behind her signified Dannis firing, the static dust projectile punching through two of the masked as they fell to the floor twitching. Nite felt her shield give away as it flickered out of existence and ducked behind cover, her job done.

"How many left?" Aegan asked ducking under a bullet fired in his direction.

"no less than ten." Dannis said, firing again. "Nine."

Aegan made to move but was stopped by Nite.

"Hang on, just let me get my breath for a second…" She said and breathed deeply through her nose a few times. Nodding she grabbed her sword from her waist, and it growled into life. "Let's get em'"

They darted in, Aegan got first blood, disarming one and bunching him through a wall before backflipping over another and double tapped them in the back, his pistols smoking.

Nite shoulder barged into a mask before spinning them to take the hits of another who was shooting at her, the shouted out as the Aura shattered and Nite then slam dunked them into the ground before rushing the other, her chain sword easily tearing through her Aura.

They had successfully stormed the bottom floor, just two more to go to get to Maya and Alden. They ran up the stairs two at a time with Nite in the lead, she could feel that most of the masked where out of action, the angry tide much weaker. It wouldn't take them long…

Alden heard footsteps approaching the door and felt his fingers flex around the trigger. The moment he registered movement his arm shot up and blasted the doorway, sending embers and splinters through the smoke.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Watch the fire!" He heard Nite shout. Her head poked around the corner. "Gods Alden, _check_ before you try and blow someone's head off!"

Aden smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry."

Dannis turned to look down the hallway, "Guard the entrances, no one else comes in."

"But they saw you! They all did!" Alden's attention turned back to Maya and the man.

"Yes, they did, but all signals coming from this area are being scrambled, noting got out. They don't know your free, we can find your daughter."

"What's going on?" Racheal asked.

Maya quickly tried to summarise the situation: "They," Maya said, gesturing to the collapsed forms of the masked littered around the room, "Have taken his daughter hostage, using her to control him."

The mans eyes widened when he saw Dannis, it seemed his reputation proceeded himself even here. "I'm- I'm sorry." He said bowing his head, "I- I've done to much for them, I know. I just want to keep my little girl safe." He sobbed.

"Don't worry." Dannis said, placing his hand on the man's shoulder, "You haven't done anything wrong."

"But I have!" He sobbed, "Gods above I have! You cannot comprehend the damage it will cause!"

"What are you talking about?" Racheal asked. The man looked up; his eyes bloodshot.

"They wanted my mind, to- to design a machine, it, will kill _thousands_, and when I declined th- this woman just froze a dagger out of mid air and held it against my daughters throat… I- couldn't say no." He completely broke down into sobs, "_I couldn't say no!_"

After he finished MANA seemed frozen to the spot and looked at each other. "_This woman just froze a dagger out of mid-air._" Could it be? They didn't have time to think about it, they needed to leave.

"Sir?" Diver's voice was heard over the radio, "The bullheads here, we're ready for extraction."

"We'll be right there." Dannis replied and walked over to the sobbing man.

"Come on, we'll get you out of here and then we can discuss how to find your daughter." The man nodded and allowed himself to be pulled shakily to his feet.

"Umm… sir?" Diver's voice was heard again.

"What is it?" Dannis asked.

"There's a… woman here, standing in the middle of the street, she won't leave."

"Then make her, we can't be here officially."

"I don' think it's that simple sir." She said.

"Why?"

"She's asking for Alden by name."

Alden's blood froze, _not again_.

Dannis turned to Alden, "What do yo…"

Alden wasn't listing, the teams outside could be in danger.

Just before he could blink down, he felt a hand grab onto his arm. They flickered back, outside the door back in the inky darkness of the night, he shook his head and looked to the side. It was Maya who had held onto him, but the others had linked to her, unwillingly he had just teleported his team probably in harms way.

Tempest had already shot out as he heard footsteps behind him, and spun round to the face the figure emerging from the shadows. He could hear the sounds of MANA's weapons readying and aiming down the street.

"Hello Alden." They said.

Alden stood facing them down, even the wind whistling down through the streets was louder than anything else.

"Furla. I'm going to hate the answer… But what are you doing here?"


	17. Vol 2 Ch 6: Dance off-Shoot out

Vol 2. Ch 6: Dance off-shoot out

Furla smiled wryly. "Nothing good I'm afraid. You stumbled on something that I'm worried that you shouldn't have seen."

Feeling his heartrate calm down a bit, Tempest retracted, and he rubbed his forehead. "Why shouldn't we have seen that?"

Furla nervously looked over her shoulder, examining the shadows and the silhouettes of the rooftops.

"Who is this?" They heard Racheal call, they turned around to see her and Dannis escorting the man from the building, Dannis led him to the Bullhead as Racheal walked over to them.

"It's a… long story." Alden said before turning back to Furla, "You were saying?"

"These masked people, I assume since you've got a policeman of the third highest rank with you, you know they are classified."

"Yeah, and…?"

"It's how _high _they have been classified, everyone I've talked to, everything I've hacked into, there is _no _mention of them, and I think it goes all the way up to councillors." 

"Councillors?" Maya asked, "But why would they want to hide their existence from everyone?"

"Oh, I have a few theories." Furla said, "But I need to confirm a few of them,"

"So why did you come here?" Aegan asked.

"I knew they were taking someone here, I needed to confirm he was who I thought he is."

"And?" Alden asked.

"He's a dust scientist, arguably the best on remnant."

"And they needed him… why?" Maya asked.

"That sadly has eluded me, but I can ensure you, it's nothing good at all."

"Right we have him loaded." Dannis said jogging over to join the group, "We can't stay here any longer." Maya nodded and made to head for the Bullhead.

"wait!" Furla called, causing them to stop.

"What is it?" Alden asked.

"If you want to know more about them, I suggest we hear them talk, rather than end up in a situation where they're shooting at you."

"And how do you suggest that?" Dannis asked, looking to Alden with a questioning look, Alden nodded subtly before turning back to her.

"You go to the club with all the shady people of course." She smiled "It will be a fun night out."

Dannis hesitated for a second and turned back to the Bullhead. "Diver, get him to the Beacon infirmary, remember no one can know how we found him, we'll take the next leg."

"If you're sure sir." She said. Dannis nodded. "All right, lets go!" She called towards the cockpit and the Bull heads engines roared into life and lifted form the ground and turned for Beacon.

As the echo from its engines finally drifted away the street was quiet once again.

"Anyway." Furla said, "Shall we?"

The walk was dark, with only the moon to provide enough light to guide them through the crumbling streets.

"I've always wondered why this area isn't renovated, there's more than enough money in the kingdom." Maya said.

"Time? Maybe, the allocation of workers?" Nite suggested, as they crossed the street and turned around a corner.

"Not that, more than half the workforce is not active on construction at any one time."

"You seem to know a lot about the capabilities of the kingdom." Racheal said glancing at her.

"That's because my dad's the assistant of…" She suddenly fell quiet.

"Of?" Aegan pushed.

"Oh, nothing." Maya said. Nite was about to push forward but was stopped by Alden shaking his head. He didn't know what she was about to say, but she obviously didn't want to mention it with their present company.

Alden pushed forward and fell into step next to Furla, she looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

"You… you know about the nightmares thing?" He asked quietly. She nodded, "Do you ever get something similar, but when your awake?"

She looked at him a bit more seriously, "Like ghosts?" He nodded, "And they recognise your presence or even see you?" again Alden nodded. "Your advancing quickly…" She said, mostly to herself. "Did you get their name?"

Alden thought back, he could see the girl walking towards the alley…

"Mum!" He heard her cry out from the shadow of his mind, "Where did you go!?" he shook his head as the flash of green burst before him. "Azerra, you ok?" he heard, "Azerra, Azerra, Azerra?" Echoed again and again getting louder and louder until it was near deafening.

"Alden?" He heard Maya ask and just like that it was gone. He stood there, blinking, staring down at a puddle. He could see himself, slightly shivering from the cold, his hair blowing back slightly in the wind. He could see someone walking up behind him and his eyes widened, there was a girl, her Auburn hair fluttering behind her-

_Her eyes glowing an emerald green. _

"Alden?" she asked, commenting to herself, "So it does happen."

Alden bolted around, searching for the glowing eyes. But he was only met with the icy blue of Maya's.

"There you are." She said smiling as his eyes refocused. He looked around, trying to regain his mental footing.

"Azerra." He said turning to look at Furla, "Her name was Azerra."

"Azerra?" Nite said, stepping forward, "Who's that?"

"The one before." Furla said, looking at Alden, "In my visions, I follow a girl called Erica, she's… consumed by hatred. We don't exactly see eye to eye. She and Azerra" she said gesturing to Alden, "have come to blows many times."

"What in all the dust is going on?" Dannis said, "I feel like I really don't understand what's happening right now."

"You know that thing I was going to tell you about later?" Alden asked. Dannis nodded, "This is that, and it's _way_ too long a story to be told now, and I don't even know half of it I imagine." He said, sending a sideways glance to Furla.

She rubbed the back of her neck, "Our… Mutual acquaintances," She said looking at Alden, "Have been quite busy lately. I haven't exactly been able to pop over and chat. I do owe you an explanation to the best of my knowledge when there's time." She looked down at her wrist at a small watch. "We don't have much time now either now, we need to keep moving."

They continued onwards, though with most of the party often sending concerned glances In Alden's direction who seemed distracted, jumping at any noise. He was powering ahead, not stopping to see if the other were keeping up. Furla slowed down slightly to fall into step with Maya.

"Sadly, this is going to be normal for a while." She said, "Just as you think you're safe and nothing is going to happen, something pops up and you're back to questioning your own sanity."

"Will he be all right though?" Maya asked, looking at Alden who was just visible at the corner of one of the tower blocks shadow.

"He will be, he'll get used to it. Currently he's trying to get used to sharing a soul with someone."

Maya turned to look at her. "Excuse me?"

"You familiar with the black sibling myth?"

"May have read up on it."

"So, you're doing your research?" Furla said, looking impressed, "It'll help him massively with people like you and your team supporting him in this, it gets… trying at times."

"He shouldn't have to face this alone, though I'm still trying to figure out what _this_ is."

"Well, what do you know about the myth?"

"umm, there are these four siblings, that can't be killed by any mortal means, they go about slaughtering anyone they deem unworthy of, well, life, and when they do eventually die, they'll just be resurrected again and the cycle turns once more."

"Pretty accurate actually, the slaughtering part especially." She said looking down at the ground sadly and kicking a stone. "We're not invincible, and we don't get resurrected, Neither Alden nor I have been running about stabbing who we please for the last few thousand years."

"Then why that part in the myth? They all have a modicum of truth."

"When we die, we give up part of our soul, a bit that was never ours in the first place, transferred down the line from when they first originated but I've never been able to determine when."

"So, Alden has, what? Someone's soul bolted onto his?"

"Not bolted on, we are born with a bit missing, designed to be filled by that part. It contains the important memories of every single lifetime but carries a lot more of the one before. So, the person carrying my part before me was called Erica, who was a complete psychopath. If what Alden is seeing is true, then it puts our predecessors at the same time."

Maya tilted her head in a questioning look.

"Azerra, as far as I can tell was the first to break off, normally events are orchestrated to make us afraid and alone when we're young so it's much easier to fall into her grips, but Azerra was found and adopted, and she got angry and tried to break free of her."

"Wait, stop there." Maya said looking towards Furla "Everyone keeps mentioning a _her_, Alden said that Eryel and Mansell had mentioned a "She" too, does she have a name?"

"Sadly, that is one of the few things that I don't know, and the thing I'm most worried about with Alden. After a while I started hearing a voice, calling my attempts at resistance futile, tried flooding my head with visons that weren't true. She wants Alden and I; she wants us all, and she already has half of us."

"This is the place." They heard Alden call from the front, he was looking at what seemed to be an abandoned building, but Maya could hear the music through the floor from here.

"You know Junior's?" Furla asked.

"No, but a friend of mine does."

"You mean that blond girl from forever fall?" Alden nodded, "I've seen her in here a few times, really tore the place up once, took on everyone by herself."

"That… sounds like Yang." Aegan said as they approached the door.

"So, what are we doing here?" Nite asked.

"Some of the masked people frequent here when they're on leave or want some privacy, we going to mingle, see if you can get close enough to hear what they're saying. Sorry but we're going to have to rely on our Faunus for this one." Maya and Aegan nodded.

Furla pushed open the doors and they headed in, swamped by the loud music. They headed down the stairs and split up.

Maya looked at Alden who was looking around nervously.

"What's the matter?" She called over the music, trying to talk loud enough for him to hear.

"I _hate_ nightclubs." He simply replied, feeling slightly claustrophobic in the noise and muggy heat of all the bodies,

"Well luckily for you, we're not here to dance." She looked around and noticed a semi- second floor above them, like an oversized balcony stretching across a large portion of the back wall. "I suggest we get a drink and head up there, get a better look."

Alden nodded, and they headed for the bar.

The keeper looked at them, gesturing for them to order something.

"I'll have an island tide, with a drop of ice." Maya said, the barman nodded and looked at Alden. Who having absolutely no idea what he was doing went with the easy option:

"I'll have what she ordered please." He said.

Maya looked at him with a smile, "You really don't know what you're doing, do you?"

"No clue." He replied with his own smile, feeling a bit better after the weird tenseness seemed to start to disperse.

Two small glasses with a suspicious looking blue liquid inside were placed before them, they smiled in thanks and took the glasses as they turned away from the bar.

"This doesn't look exactly… indigestible." Alden said eyeing his glass sceptically as they headed for some stairs.

"This one shouldn't be poisonous to humans." Maya said nonchalantly as she began her ascent. Alden's eyebrows raised and looked at her in alarm.

"Wait, what?"

Maya simply just smiled at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Alden rolled his eyes as his eyebrows lowered. "Oh you… That was rude." He said as they reached the top. They walked over to the railing and lent against it as they observed the crowd below.

The chamber was most heavily populated in the centre, in the large multi-coloured dancefloor, surrounding it was a small elevated walkway where there were several people milling around on its surface. But nothing stood out to them. Even further out towards the edges of the large room where several tables, where scattered. They examined them closely. There were several groups, most talking quietly amongst themselves, but nothing stood out like the masked they had fought earlier.

"I don't see them." Maya said, "Do you?"

"Nope, Maybe they're not here yet?"

"Maybe."

A period of silence followed as they examined the members of the crowd. They could see Nite and Aegan in one of the corners, also examining the crowd like they were. Nearer the middle, under the cover of all the noise they could see Furla talking avidly with Dannis and Racheal. But Not even Maya could hear what they were saying…

"Isn't it Peach's test tomorrow?" Aden asked, breaking Maya's concentration.

She turned to look at him.

"We're in one of the shadiest clubs in town, trying to find a group of mysterious kidnappers and possibly mass-murderers, and you're worried about a _test?_"

Alden looked at her with a mock offended look "What?"

Maya shook her head smiling, "You're unbelievable." She said, "but yes, it's tomorrow."

"Cool, that's all I wanted to know." Alden said.

"Do you… Believe what Furla is saying?" Maya asked, "About everything? You? Her?"

Alden sighed and looked down at his hands crossed over the railing. "I don't want to; I _really _don't want to. But either she's telling the truth, or I have got some top-class hallucinations, and hallucinations don't bash you through trees or conjure up new types of grimm. I think I have to believe her."

"Do you think all of this is related to them?" Maya asked making an ambiguous gesture with her hands. "That girl back in forever fall said we'll see them again soon. Since then, we've been involved in a murder, a street shooting, you having a weird type of panic attack and getting stalked by Grimm on a hunter infested island, What if they have something to do with it?"

"I really wouldn't be surprised, you're right, its been crazy since forever fall, we haven't been able to get a break."

"And now we're dealing with the kidnapping of a young girl by a shadow organisation who's apparently planning on killing thousands."

"What a day!" Alden said grinning.

"All in day of a life of a hunter in training."

"Just imagine what it will be like when we graduate!"

"Talking of which." Maya started again, a faraway look in her eyes. "A lot of teams disband when they leave Beacon, do you think we'll be the same?"

"Well, Nite doesn't want to go back to vacuo, and the rest of us live in Vale, so why would we? I'm all for sticking together."

"Good," Maya said smiling at him "I'm glad."

"You just want to keep being in charge, is that what this is?" Alden said smirking at her. This time he was ready. He saw the flash of orange from the corner of his eye and moved his hand to his back and wrapped his hand around the furry appendage before it could hit him.

Maya looked at him in shock, her tail caught in his hand. He enjoyed the revenge on her using it to whack him when he didn't expect it, but he was very careful not to pull it. He stuck his tongue out at her and released her tail as it flopped back behind her.

"That's cheating." She sulked.

"If I recall correctly, that's what I told you when you first hit me with it, revenge is sweet M'lady." He said pretending to cock a hat.

She rolled her eyes and smiled as her gaze went back to the crowd and stiffened, "heads up." She said. Alden followed her gaze to where she was looking to see a new group enter the club. Half a dozen in total, they moved with a strange sort of purpose and Alden couldn't even see one of their faces. They were here.

"What even is this stuff?" Nite said, her face contorted in disgust as Aegan laughed at her.

"I-I'm sorry," He tried to say between breaths, "But your face was worth it!"

"How do you drink this!?" She said putting it down on a table nearby as she tried to concentrate on something else to forget about the awful taste sitting int the back of her mouth.

"I don't!" Aegan said still laughing, "I just thought it would be funny to see you try it!" He said putting his drink down too, Nite narrowed her eyes at him and when he wasn't looking as he was clutching his stomach in his self-imposed glee, she swapped the glasses round.

When Aegan went back to his drink, Nite watched him with interest. His eyes widened in shock and he spat the contents back into her glasses. This time it was Nite who failed to keep her emotions under wraps and started to cackle at his forced misfortune.

He looked at her with lowered eyebrows. "You…"

"Be careful what you wish for!" She singed as she took a sip of his drink, a fruity flavour reminding her of strawberries filled her mouth. Much better.

Something felt wrong.

Most of the club had a fairly care-free feel to it. But suddenly it changed, she could feel… something, it wasn't angry, but it definitely had a malicious feel about it. She started to look around but couldn't see anything out of place.

"What is it?" Aegan asked.

"I don't know…"

Alden felt uneasy, it seemed like he could feel someone touching the back of his neck, but when he looked behind him, he could see nothing. He turned his attention back to the group who had taken a seat at one of the tables. Maya nudged him with her elbows and gestured across the floor with her head.

"If we get over there, I might be able to hear them." She said. Alden nodded silently and whilst still checking around him followed her to their new spot. Maya took another sip of her drink, appearing casual and non-threatening but kept her ears trained down.

"So why are we still keeping him? He's outlived his usefulness, just be rid of him and the girl and we'll be free of the loose ends."

"On this project yes, but we may be able to use him again, the girl is to remain safe, and we have the power to do anything we want with him."

"I think, they're talking about the guy we rescued." Maya whispered, still keeping her attention down, "They're arguing over a girl they're using as a hostage."

"Are they saying where?" Alden whispered back; Maya shook her head. Alden looked back over the crowd below, there was no way he would be able to hear for himself without being found, he managed to lock eyes with Nite who she and Aegan had managed to get closer themselves. He could see Aegan's ears stretched high above his head, trying to hear anything he could. Looking further afield he soon realised he couldn't see Dannis, Racheal or Furla. His eyebrows furrowing, he scanned the crowd again to no avail.

He tapped Maya's arm to let her know he was moving and pushed off from the railing. When he reached the top of the stairs he looked again, his concern rising by the second. It wasn't like they were hard to miss. Deciding there was no other place to look, his gaze turned up to the rafters, there he saw Racheal, he felt relief flood back into him, but why was she up there? He felt his stomach drop to see that she was holding her weapons, she looked like she was tracking something. This wasn't good.

"The sixth group are overseeing the transfer," One of the masked said, "It should reach the target within the next week." Maya was struggling to strain her ears, trying to filter out the noise of the club.

"When is it going to be completed?" Another asked.

"Maybe a day or two after the package arrives, it only needs injecting. But that much dust is going to be incredibly volatile. So, it's a slow process."

"Why not fly it, won't that speed it up?"

"Yes, but it's not that inconspicuous."

Suddenly, she heard a click behind her. She then felt the heavy scratch of metal resting on the back of her head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man, a pistol levelled at her head. She tensed ready to spring into action, but she felt the barrel press harder into the back of her skull.

"I wouldn't." The man said quietly. Maya quickly began running through her options, dodging was difficult, his finger was already half cocked the trigger. Her semblance may help but he would still attempt to fire. Perhaps if she could get her weapon to expand…

She saw a sudden flash of purple to her side, her vision just registered the split-second appearance of Alden before both him and the man had vanished in a purple flash, reappearing in the shadows at the back where no one was looking.

The man looked stunned for a second, trying to figure out how he had changed location, but was snapped out of it as he heard a rattling sound, but there was no time to react. Alden was already in mid swing, the frontal plate of Tempest smashing into his temple and he rolled onto the floor, out cold.

Maya and Alden looked at the man and then at each other. He was wearing the blank mask, and he had known they were there…

Two gunshots rang out from towards the dance floor. Followed by screams and the sound of pounding feet.

It was a trap…

Maya looked over the railing, there where several masked wading out from the shadow, all with weapons drawn. The doors slammed open and two more walked in with large machine guns slung in their arms, with a sickening crunch that Maya could hear even from this distance they cocked their weapons and lowered it towards Nite and Aegan, but between them was a large crowd of civilians, running in all directions in their terror, right in the way to be gunned down.

Maya's weapon span and rattled as it folded into the rifle and she rested the barrel across the railing. This time she didn't muck about, nor did she hesitate, with so many innocent civilians on the line, her crosshairs swivelled and landed on the head of the first one. She exhaled as she pulled the trigger.

The dragon's head pulsed as the fireball streaked across the room, brushing past one of Aegan's blades as he blocked a bullet from behind him, and slammed into the neck of her target, sending him sprawling to the floor. Before the other one could react, he was also dropped as Maya double tapped him in the chest.

Nite looked up to see where the shots were coming from, she saw Maya standing at the railing, barrel smoking and it swivelled in her direction. The barrel flashed and she felt the rush of heat as the projectile passed inches from her neck and slammed into a masked behind her sending her sprawling to the ground. They flipped back onto their feet and advance on her again just as three more shots brought her down.

The entire building was filled with shouts and screams as bullets found their marks; it didn't seem the masked were targeting them so much as they were targeting _everyone._ Luckily, the club's security had mobilised and were trading fire as more masked came running through the door. Nite was desperately trying to control her breathing. The gunshots… the screams… the smell of gunpowder, it was just like being back at Vacuo. She felt the tug in her gut as she reached out. She can do something now. Tapping into the fear of the people around her, the black swirling shield began to form and grew, spiralling out and growing even larger until it rose from floor to ceiling, cutting off a large part of the club, separating her and the civilians from the fighting.

Without having to worry about the civilian's safety, they broke ranks and dived headfirst into the chaos.

Form her position overlooking the fight Maya could see a near continuous flash of purple, zapping about from masked to masked, leaving a trail of collapsed bodies in its wake. Dannis was higher up like her, his weapon flashing a brilliant blue as he dropped masked after masked. Racheal was running around the edges of the club, her flying disks bouncing off the walls leaving an orange streak in their wake. She couldn't see Furla though. Through the corner of her eye she saw Alden blink… but he didn't reappear…

There where cries of shock that filled the room as she looked down, there were no more masked in the club, nor were there any bodies, they had just… vanished…

Alden suddenly hesitated he could have sworn he wanted to end up somewhere on the other side of the club, not here. He looked around and nearly had a heart attack as he saw their shimmering qualities. The last time this happened was… He felt his body flood with adrenaline, making his chest spike with pain as his heart started to beat to fast. Surrounding him were the bodies of the masked, their blank expression staring up at the ceiling, the only thing making them unique were the holes for the eyes. Most of them were riddled with bullets from the club's security, others had dust burn marks, a few of them were still alive writhing in pain.

Above all them was a figure standing in a black cloak which they pulled down. Alden felt the panic grip his chest as their red hair tumbled down their back, eye's burning with hateful intent, in their hand was a sword made of ice…

Alden blinked as far away as possible, his gauntlets shrieking as they fire of a hail of lightning dust projectiles.

Eryel blocked them easily as Alden felt the wind at his back change, he rolled just as another figure sailed over where he was standing. Mansell growled at him and began to advance as Alden desperately backed up. Alden was trying to get his muscles under control, but he felt feint as his body went into both shock and a desperate fight or flight response. Just as suddenly as they had arrived Alden was suddenly standing in the middle of the dancefloor, reeling, spinning round, his eyes as wide as saucers as he desperately tried to find the hooded figures in the crowd.

"Alden?" He heard Maya call, "You were gone too long, are you alri…"

"Where are they!?" Alden interrupted, his gauntlets swivelling just in case they were sneaking up on them, he needed to get his team out of…

"Alden!" He heard Maya say firmly, gripping his shoulders to try and ground him. His attention finally was commanded by her and he tried to get his breathing back to normal. "What happened?" She asked.

"Alden!" They heard Furla call. They turned to see her run up to them. "I felt them, they were hear."

"Who?" Maya asked.

"Eryel and Mansell, they were in this club."

Alden nodded weakly. "I saw them." He hesitated, "At least I think I did, I can never be quite sure with them."

"Oh, they were here alright." She said looking around the club. Many were staring at Nite, whose shield had just faded away. "We need to get out of here, before anyone thinks it was us."

Alden breathed in deeply, the calm night air helped to steady his nerves.

"What was that about?" Dannis asked, "You look as Pale as a ghost!"

They quickly retreated to the shadows and Alden took several minutes, standing still and gazing at the stars which could be seen in the sky as he tried to regain what breath he could.

"I think… I could do with that drink you offered." Alden said, still looking around nervously.

That is how they ended up at the Mill-House Hill at eleven O'clock at night, huddled around a table in the corner.

"So, all of this has happened _after _your trip to forever fall?" Dannis asked. Alden nodded, "the dust robberies seemed to have stopped around then, and that also around the first time I found a sighting report of these "masked" as you call them. So, you think it's got something to do with these Mansell and Eryel characters?"

"Not think." Furla interjected, "This is exactly their Modus Operandi, They have a very large part to play in all this."

"Well, I can see what I can find on the database." Dannis said," They may not be covered by the classification, but I don't think that will lead to anything."

"It's worth a try," Furla said, she then turned to the members of MANA, "During our little shoot off I managed to get one of those masked at the table, they didn't know it was a trap and had a runaway mouth, if you catch my drift."

"Anything interesting?" Maya asked,

"Maybe not about them," Furla said, "But something to do with the dust robberies. They said that huge shipments of it are being moved to a Village on the Northern border of Vale called Maranis. But there's no infrastructure there to do anything with it. He also said that the guy you rescued, Doctor Olson? His daughter may be being held there."

"Right but how do we get there? It's on the other side of the Kingdom." Maya asked.

"Well, if I remember correctly. You get to shadow a huntsman or huntress within the next week on your first mission. Ozpin already knows about the transfer of dust, they'll be a mission to there, all you need to do is get on it."

"Okay, and when we get there?" Maya probed.

"Find out what they're doing there, find Olson's daughter and bring her home safe, and generally throw as big of a spanner as you can into the works. With what we've seen today, it's most likely the inhabitants of Maranis are in danger of being caught up in this. It's a big ask, but you're the only ones who know about this who can operate on an official enough level to help the village if its too dangerous for them."

Maya looked at the rest of her team. "Are you guys Ok with this? It's on the other side of the Kingdom, so we may be there a while. We need to be unanimous on this, it's likely going to be incredibly dangerous, and a long way from home."

"I'm in." Alden said, "They're going to be counting on us, we may be some of the few that can help."

"I agree," Nite said "But that's easy for me to say, home is with you guys."

They looked at Aegan, he looked slightly hesitant, but he summoned his resolve and nodded, "Let's get them." Maya smiled.

Racheal jokingly pretended to shed a tear," Beautiful." She said, "Our little hunters are growing up."

"Oh, shut up." Alden said smiling at her.

Dannis chuckled "On a more serious note, you have the right attitude, you'll make excellent huntsman and huntresses when you graduate."

Furla looked up at the tower clock at the edge of the room. "And with that, you lot should be getting to bed, you have a test tomorrow."

Nite groaned and her head hit the table, "I forgot about that…"

"How did you know about that?" Alden asked her.

"I know many things Alden," She said smiling, "enjoy your dance this weekend."

"Wait, what? I thought it got cancelled…"

"Your friends have taken over the preparations for the ball, didn't you know?"

"How do you know so much about what's going on in Beacon?" Dannis said suspiciously.

"Honestly? You probably don't want to know." She smiled and nodded at them, "I'll stay in touch, stay safe!" She said and headed for the door.

When the door shut with click Alden settled further down in his chair. "What day is it tomorrow?"

"Friday." Aegan said.

"We'll I'm going home after the exam; I've got nothing for a party."

"Neither has anyone." Maya said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hit the town tomorrow." Nite suggested

"It will be nice to get a break for once." Aegan said.

Maya snickered, "Yeah, with our luck? What could possibly go wrong?"

**Hi everyone, me again!**

**So as of the 19****th**** of February, I hadn't watched any of season 7, I find it easier to watch it all at once to avoid any confusion from between episodes. So that means I've been out of the loop for a few months. But now There's a few important things to note, the main one being the mention of timelines: which for me is perfect as It gives me a bit more leeway in how I mould MANA to the story, this hopefully can result in MANA working more closely with RWBY and JNPR in the future, but nothing too ridiculous, promise! But I would like to see them working together a bit more. We'll have to see what comes.**

**So from here on out, the actual story of MANA is going to start to speed up, much less mentions of the whole "black siblings" drama and more actual involvement. So over the next few chapters we'll explore the ball and MANA's first mission, I have been thinking about these events form literally since I began to write MANA, so I'll try my hardest to make sure they reflect it as such! I hope you're looking forward to this as much as I am!**

**If you've liked what you've read so far please consider leaving a review or PM'ing me, I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about this and I'm happy to answer any questions you have about the story, thanks for your time everyone!**

**Until then!**


	18. Lil' Temporary update- New chapter soon!

Lil' Temporary update

Hi everyone, I hope you're all well, and thanks for popping by.

Funnily enough we're here to talk about this little bug that's running around and rudely ruining pretty much everything. So here in the UK a little over a week ago we basically got the warning that everything was going to close soon. As I'm sure it's happened everywhere else in the world schools and University's shut down and most transport links soon after that.

This meant MANA was temporarily delayed (Which really pissed me off because I was getting on a roll in speeding up the chapters) mainly due to rushed exams to get in before the whole thing shut down and trying to get from my University back to home before all the transport links closed (which they did a day later after I got home which was close!)

So we've been in a state of more or less lock down for about three days now, and as one of my family is counted under the medically vulnerable people we've all been able to stay together and no one has to go out which I'm very grateful for.

Back to MANA: although delayed it has not stopped and shall resume in earnest, before all… _this _happened The next chapter was already mostly finished so now that it can continue I only hope a few days is needed to get it ready and to send it out so check back soon!

I know in comparison to a lot of places in Europe alone the UK is doing relatively well, the reader base of MANA is very diverse and many of you come from those countries that are really being hit hard by the Virus so my heart goes out to you all. I hope you and all your loved ones are faring well, hopefully soon for most of us this will be just a distant memory.

Stay safe everyone


	19. Vol 2 Ch 7: An Echo of the Past

Vol 2. Ch 7: An Echo of the Past

Azerra shuffled slightly as she woke up, deliberately crunching her eyelids closer together, trying desperately to let sleep take her again. Sadly, it seemed to have forsaken her. Still not ready to open her eyes she relished the feel of the rounded bark beneath her, albeit alien. As much as she clung to the feeling as one of the few reminders of home, she could tell but how smooth the texture was beneath her it wasn't an Oak or Beech tree which were found so commonly at home, nor could she smell the sweet sap produced by the maple trees in Autumn.

But even _if_ she could ignore all of that, it was so _hot_ here, there was no soft rustling in the tree's signifying a cooling breeze, no gentle lapping of the surf against the sands. Just the unrelenting beating of the sun that was starting to creep up from beyond the horizon. Against her better judgement her eyes slowly began to open, observing the blazing sky.

She looked around. She was nearly alone on her sole tree bared amongst a sea of sand and tough grass. It was everywhere she looked: North, South, East, West it was nothing after nothing, dune after dune. There was nothing in the sky either, no clouds, no birds. Its only companion being the scorching sun.

She was told by the captain of the Ferry that brought them there, a young man by the name of Tiller that the Vacuons never really respected any foreigners unless they were able to survive the desert. She didn't think she would have a problem, considering where she grew up, she was a survivalist at heart.

That however did not prepare her for the desert, nothing could. She quickly learned that there was no food, no streams, no natural shelter. Vacuo was so completely and utterly uninhabitable to anything that set foot there. She very quickly had an immense amount of respect for all the inhabitants and couldn't help but wonder how much they wasted their wilds back home in Vale.

It also made her feel very trapped. In any other Kingdom, if something went wrong, if _they_ turned up, then she could grab her team and run into the wilds and let them chase her. It would keep the kingdom safe. At least for a little while. But here they had nowhere to go. Not until she learned how to deal with the desert.

Which is why when the Ferry pulled up alongside the port town of Zarmen she sent the rest of her team to have a rest after the long voyage, and immediately went on a search to find someone to help her understand the desert better.

When they had eventually made it into Vacuo, she decided to put her newfound knowledge to the test and camped out on a lone Acacia tree in the low-lying Savannah which surrounded Vacuo. She was happy that she managed to get through the night comfortably, although every single part of her felt like it was wrong being there.

Movement to her left caught her attention. Blocked by the sun, the silhouette of a person was moving towards her, contrasted against the dark towers of the city beyond. Above it was the hulking form of the amity coliseum, shimmering in the heat haze of the desert beyond. As the person got closer Azerra recognised the posture of her partner.

Ryan Acreshall was a very stoic individual, incredibly determined, yet so subtle in his personality you wouldn't know he was playing the game until he had already won. When they had first been teamed up, her often over optimistic personality had clashed with his more rational and careful thinking approach. Although it was rocky at first, they had learned to cooperate with each other and had become quite an effective team.

"Only you would consider trying to spend the night in the open desert for fun." Ryan sighed as he approached the bottom of her tree. Azerra twisted herself over the branch to look down at him. He had dumped his usual jumper for a loose-fitting t-shirt to help with the heat from the desert sun.

"What? Its useful knowledge to have if we're going to spend a while here." Azerra retorted a shifted into a crouching position on her branch as she wrapped up the sheet of cloth, she had used to help keep her heat in during the bitterly cold nights. Once she was done, she tied it to the backpack she had used as a pillow and rotated to face Ryan.

He had stepped sideways to get out of her path as she leapt from the tree, stumbling slightly as her feet sunk into the sand as she landed.

"Smooth." He said as she regained her balance. She shot him a glare in reply.

"So how was your night?" She asked.

"It was all right," he said "At least I wasn't freezing to death. Harry kept complaining about being underground though."

Azerra laughed, their bird-Faunus companion did _not_ like being underground one bit. Most visitor accommodation in Vacuo is underground as the temperature is more stable. Visitors from other Kingdoms aren't used to the temperature extremes of the desert and find it more comfortable in the hotels built into a cavern system that ran under the city.

They walked up a nearby sand dune, clambering near the top to keep their grip on the loose sand. They sat at the top and looked out over the desert beyond.

"I had another one of those dreams tonight." Azerra said.

"I'm going to assume that because you still seem happy, it was about Alden and not Jarchell."

"Jeez Ryan, you should become a psychiatrist." Azerra deadpanned, causing a slight smile to form on Ryan's face.

"What was it about?"

"When the others first came for him."

"And he survives?"

"Yep, just about thankfully."

"Just about?"

"No aura, bashed through a tree, airlifted out by a medical aircraft… you know, the usual." Azerra said waving her hand in a disregarding manner.

"Sounds familiar." Ryan said, turning to face her.

"Hey!"

"You were shot."

"And?"

"Through both lungs."

"Pfft… it was just a scratch."

"If you consider a "scratch" to be a gaping hole in both sides of your abdomen then yeah, pretty much."

Azerra quietly laughed and laid back against the sand. "it seems to run in the… what do you call it? Soul-line?"

"I'd say that's a pretty good name for it."

After a pause Azerra shot back up to a sitting position. "There were only two." She said.

"What?"

"He was only attacked by two of them…"

"Are you saying that…?"

"Either they've already lost one, or one of them have already broken away _before _they go for him."

"Well, that's great isn't it?" Ryan said looking hopeful

"Hopefully. Or… they're changing up their plans."

"Possibly, but that's a depressing thought, so let's not focus on that until we know more."

"Yeah, you're right." Azerra said.

"Hey, so you have dreams of both Jarchell and Alden. Before and after. So, does that mean that Alden could have dreams of you and whoever comes after him?"

Azerra thought for a moment, "well, we know Jarchell also did it so… yes? I don't think there's anything stopping him from doing that."

"So that should mean we might be able to talk to him, right?"

"What are you basing that on? Jarchell never talks."

"That's because Jarchell was corrupted from the get-go. From what your telling me Alden is actively resisting too."

"For now, yes." Azerra said, turning to face him.

"So, Alden will definitely want to talk to you, he'll be confused about it all, possibly alone, which is not good at all."

"Maybe not." Azerra said.

"What?"

"I may be wrong but seems to have quite a few friends with him. It was only the beginning so for as far as I know, _they_ know much less than us."

"But there's only one way to find out."

"How?"

Ryan shook his head and smiled at her, "We ask them, silly."

Alden shook his head, his eyes refocusing as a few pieces of paper was placed on the desk before him. He had been replaying last night's dream in his head over and over. He stifled a Yawn; he didn't get a very good night's sleep. He smiled in thanks to the professor as she moved on placing another small stack in front of Maya.

When Professor Peach had finished delivering the tests to the students she returned to the front of the class and sat on the desk, crossing one leg over the other and addressed the class:

"Well sadly everyone, it is unquestionably one of the worst times of the year. Seriously how some teachers expect their classes to sit in silence for hours on end on a regular basis is utterly beyond me, but this time I don't have a choice." She held up and fluttered about a piece of paper in the air.

"These are the instructions, I'm supposed to read them to you, but you've heard them thousand times before, so I'll spare your time." She then threw the piece of paper behind her shoulder much to the delight of her students.

"All right… When you're ready, you can start."

The room was filled with the noise of paper being flipped and the steady silence of everyone scanning the first question:

**What is the process called when two forms of dust are fused together?**

From the corner of his eye he could see Nite silently groan and knock her head against the table, Aegan quietly stared at the question blinking a few times as he tried to remember. To his right he could see Maya furiously scribbling, probably on question five or six by now knowing her. He knew Yang, Ruby and the rest of their friends were somewhere behind him, but he couldn't look behind him to see what they were doing without getting into trouble. He looked back to his paper and uncapped his pen.

He turned his attention back to the arena. After spending two hours in Peach's classroom for the exam it was a popular opinion of the class to head to the ring to let off some steam.

A red blur shot past his face and shot into the air, it bursted and Ruby appeared aiming down the sights of her weapon. Two shots rang out, but Maya had sidestepped the first and deflected the second.

Ruby landed and the pair rushed towards each other. Sparks flew as their blades screeched against one another. They locked in the middle and Ruby tried firing again to dislodge Maya's blade, but she remained stubbornly locked. Mya jumped and twisted, forcing Ruby's scythe back. She flipped and landed behind Ruby and twisted her foot around Ruby's ankle and yanked forwards, unbalancing her before ramming the handle of her glaive backwards, causing her to fall to the ground.

Yang winced next to him, keenly observing the spectacle.

Ruby instantly had flipped back to her feet and took a wide low swing at Maya who hurdled the blade and swung down herself. Ruby managed to block the swing and swiped her blade all the way round, catching Maya in the side and sending her flying towards the edge of the ring.

"Yeah! Good one Ruby!" Yang called out.

Maya rammed her blade into the floor and came skidding to a halt just before the edge of the ring. Causing some cheering from the spectators, as they took sides and bets. Ruby had an evil glint in her eye and rushed forward using her semblance, trying to knock Maya out of the ring.

In the snap second it took Ruby to cross the ring Maya had seen her coming and vanished. Ruby slowed down ever so slightly as she didn't know where Maya was. Just as she was about to turn and head back towards the centre, Maya shimmered back into view behind Ruby and swung her glaive out wide like an oversized golf club and slammed it into Ruby's back causing her to stumble out of the ring.

"Knockout!" Nite called.

Ruby looked around surprised and looked down to see her feet had indeed left the ring's boundaries. She looked up to see Maya smiling apologetically at her. She huffed in annoyance at herself. And the pair left the ring.

"Ha ha." Alden said smugly to Yang who childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"Who's up next?" Someone called from the gathered crowd.

"I'll go!" Nora shouted and vaulted over the barricade. Standing in the middle of the ring, gleefully holding her hammer. She examined the crowd before picking Neera, the leader of team NOVA. She too, jumped over the barricade and approached Nora, her trident held high.

Yang looked down at her scroll, checking the time. She looked back up at Alden.

"I've gotta run, need to help Weiss prepare the ballroom for the dance tomorrow. Sure you don't want to come?"

Alden shook his head, "Need to go to town today, none of us thought to take anything "formal" with us to Beacon."

Yang looked at him sceptically, "Knowing you, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have anything at all which would be appropriate for a dance."

Alden sighed, "I know… I might have one thing, but I need to go and check. If not… shopping." He said as his head dropped in despair.

Yang huffed and playfully shoved his shoulder "Hey, at least _all_ of your team is coming along."

"Who's not going?" He asked.

"Blake…" Yang sighed, "I'm going to talk to her later, see if I can convince her to come."

"But knowing Blake… she can be more stubborn than you."

"I would be offended… if it wasn't true." Yang said.

Everyone had noticed the third member of team RWBY had seemed down in the dumps lately, her test scores had plummeted, and dark rings surrounded her eyes. Alden, Yang, Maya, Ruby Nite, Aegan hell, even _Jaune_ had been observant enough to notice her state and had tried to get her to open up, to the point that now she was avoiding pretty much everyone.

"But how are you going to convince her if you can't event talk to her in the first place?"

"I just need to corner her, it'll be easy." Alden raised an eyebrow.

"Yang she's a _Cat Faunus_, I don't think she even understands what being cornered is."

"Which is what this is for!" Yang said proudly holding a silver tube. As Alden looked quizzically at it, she pointed it at him and pressed a button, making a bright red dot appear on his chest.

Alden looked down at it and his eyes widened. "Is that a…!?" He didn't finish his sentence, Yang just smiled and nodded.

"That cannot end well…" Alden said, still eyeing the device.

"Why not?" Yang laughed.

"This is Blake we're talking about; she isn't the… happiest when people play jokes on her." Alden said.

"It'll be fine. Everyone loves me." Yang said pocketing her new toy.

"To the exception of team Cardinal and Professor Port, you are so lucky that's true." Alden pointed out.

Yang smiled and shrugged "meh."

Yang's ringtone played from her pocket to which she fished out her scroll which was dominated by a picture of Weiss.

"Talking about people with no sense of humour." Yang said as she pressed the answer button. "Hello?"  
"Yang!" Came Weiss' muffled voice from Yang's scroll. "You said You'll be here five minutes ago!"

"Sorry." Yang said sheepishly, "I got caught up talking to Alden."

"Well, talk to him _after_. We don't have time to waste!"

"Sheesh, keep your skirt on." Yang mumbled.

"What? I haven't taken my skirt off all day!" Weiss replied irritably.

Yang and Alden on the other hand were trying to stifle their laughs.

"Aww." Yang cooed to Alden "she's so innocent!"

"What was that?" Weiss snapped.

"Nothing!" Yang quickly replied as she winked at Alden. "I'm on my way, I'll be there in a sec." She hung up and repocketed her scroll.

"Well make sure you get something nice for tomorrow, Oh! And perhaps ask Maya for advice? She's got a better style choice than you!"

Alden looked mockingly offended. "Ow!"

"She's right though." Alden suddenly heard Maya say as she came to stand beside him and waved to Yang as she jogged off.

"And you're rude." Alden countered, "Good fight against Ruby by the way."

"Thanks," she smiled, "She moves so fast!"

"And you learned this… when?" Alden said. Maya exasperatedly rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder out the way as she walked past.

"Come on everyone," She called "we need to hit the town."

Alden squinted as he descended from the ramp of the airship. The sun was high in the sky and there was little shade to take shelter in from its glare.

"So… on our list today is…." Maya said as she examined her scroll. "I need to head to mine to pick something up and ask my dad something, Alden needs to get to Patch. Aegan, you said that you have something at home?" Aegan almost nervously nodded, leading to some concerned glances from the rest of the team but Maya continued, "And finally we need to take Nite shopping because she doesn't have anything suitable."

"Sounds about right." Nite said. "So, what are we doing first?"

"How about we split up?" Maya asked, "Alden and I will go to mine, you go with Aegan to his. When we're done, we can all go to patch and then sort you out on the way back?"

"That's not a bad idea." Alden said.

"All right we'll see you at the port later then." Nite said. She and Aegan turned the corner and headed Eastwards towards Aegan's house.

Alden and Maya carried on and soon entered a small market square, dominated by colourful banners and large cloth gazebos filled with tables and sales calls drifted on the breeze. Something obviously caught Maya's eyes as she looked to him and said, "I'll be back in a sec." and jogged off to the other side of the square.

Alden looked through the mass of tents and examined the goods on show. As he walked about, he noticed a small ice cream stand. Suddenly noticing the beating sun, it seemed an ever increasingly enticing idea. He walked up to the stand and smiled at the attendant.

"Hello! What can I get for you?" The woman asked. Gesturing to the large refrigerated apparatus before her filled with every flavour of ice cream under the baking sun. Alden examined them and thought back to the other situations when the team had stopped for an ice cream break, trying to figure out what Maya's favourite was.

"I'll have…" he said, straining to remember. "A rum and raisin one please and a chocolate one if that's okay?" He asked.

The woman nodded and joined the cabinet holding a large scoop. Mid way though sorting It out she looked over her shoulder towards a van parked behind it. "Tad! Can you bring out another box of the chocolate please?" She called.

"On it!" a voice could be heard from inside before a slim looking man hopped out of the van carrying a box. As he approached the woman removed another from the counter and gave it to the man and took the one, he was carrying. Before she turned Alden noticed he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as they exchanged boxes. She slotted the box back in and swiftly finished his order.

Alden fished his wallet from his pocket and counted out his money and placed it on the counter. The woman smiled at him and handed over his order. "Have a nice day!" She said. Alden smiled

"You too!" and turned when he saw Maya approaching from the corner of his eye. He held out her ice cream.

"I got this for you." They both said simultaneously. Confused they looked down at each other's hands. In one hand Maya was holding her own rum and raisin ice cream, and in the other she was offering him a chocolate one, mirrored by Alden.

"Aww! Aren't they cute?" The woman said to her husband, causing blushes to erupt on their faces.

"What? We're not… ugh…" Maya huffed. Alden laughed at her discomfort even though his own face felt hot. She looked cute when she was blushing…

Where did _that_ thought come from? He rapidly chased it out of his head before it could delay his brain any further.

"Meh, I'm good having two. The more the merrier right?" He said as held both cones in one hand and took the one from Maya before offering hers back. She quickly snatched it off him and began to walk away from the couple who was still laughing at them.

"Thanks!" Alden called before marching off to catch up with Maya. They quickly excited the square and back onto the gridded streets. They weaved through the crowds bustling about the shops and hanging up even more Vytal festival decorations.

They soon came across Ferendale park and the pair found a bench overlooking the sea and sat. eagerly tucking into their ice creams as they were rapidly melting. They sat in silence and left each other to their thoughts. As Alden looked over the sea, he was reminded of Azerra standing in the turf.

"_You need to learn to trust your team with this."_ He could hear Yang say. Alden sighed, she was right, He needed to talk about it to them, before something forced the conversation onto the topic.

"I had another dream last night." He said, looking out over the great blue nothing. Maya turned to him and nodded, silently encouraging him to continue. "It was with Azerra again, she was with her team in Vacuo."

"I thought you said she was a Valeian?" Maya asked, wiping a bit of melted ice cream off her cone with a finger.

"It's during the Vytal festival." Alden said.

"ahh." Maya replied.

"She was talking to a friend; I think he was a member of her team. They were discussing these dreams we have."

Maya swivelled to face him, "She got theses dreams too?" Alden nodded.

"From what I can tell she had a dream of us at forever fall."

"Forever fall?" Alden nodded again.

"Which has led to a very important point, we may be able to communicate with them, through these dreams."

"But isn't that relying on them being able to see precisely the moment you want to talk to them at?"

"Not necessarily. I think it's possible to call attention to important events. I mean what was the chance that I would drop in at the exact moment _they_ talk about communicating with us? What's the chance that she could drop in precisely at that moment in forever fall?"

"So how do we know if you can do this?"

"We test it." Alden said, crossing his legs and swivelled to face her. "Go on, say something to Azerra and her team and I'll tell you if she replies."

"Why are you asking me to say something to them, why aren't you?"

"Because I'm being nice. If this works you may be the first person _ever_ to have a friendly conversation with someone from the past!" He smiled cheekily at her, "You'll be quite literally breaking history!"

Maya rolled her eyes at the pun. "Well what am I supposed to tell her?"

"I don't know." Alden said "Ask her something that won't be easily answered by accident in a conversation. Something she'll physically have to talk to us for."

"Umm…" Maya looked around looking for inspiration. Her eyes fell to her hands, where a half-nibbled ice cream cone still remained. She looked back to him "What's her favourite ice cream flavour?"

Alden smiled. "That's a good one, hopefully, we'll get an answer, and if we do…"

"We can learn about what the hell _this_ is" Maya said, "We can try and figure it out with someone who has already gone through it."

"Exactly." Alden said.

They got to their feet after finishing the last of their ice creams. "Which way?" Alden asked her, looking around.

"Over here." Maya said and headed off, crossing width ways across the park, passing underneath a tree on the edge before entering back onto the streets.

The streets were getting busier and busier as the weeks wore on with more and more visitors arriving from the different Kingdoms for the festival.

"So, have you been to any of this kind of dance before?" Maya asked.

"Nope, not one." Alden replied, scuffing his feet. "As much as I'm sure it'll be fun, I've been dreading it since I knew it was happening."

"Why's that?"

"Because it seems I've inherited my dad's complete inability to dance the "posh" dances." He seemed to shudder at the thought, "I've just been better at avoiding the dance in the first place."

Maya laughed, "You can't be _that_ bad." She said.

"Oh, trust me, I can."

"And yet you're going anyway?" she asked.

"Yeah," Alden said rubbing the back of his neck "Since Yang's organising it, I don't exactly get a choice in the matter. Plus, you guys are going to so I'm hoping they won't be as catastrophically bad as they were in my previous experiences."

Maya laughed at his overdramatic hand gestures during his monologue. He really was a child at times.

"So, have you been to any?" Alden asked her.

"A few." She replied.

"And how did they go?"

"Umm…"

"That bad?"

"No, it's just my dad is councilwoman Veera's assistant. So occasionally we get invited to big high-class balls. Some of them are all right, it's just that most don't really appreciate Faunus."

"So, most of them haven't grown up yet?" Alden asked.

"Pretty much" Maya replied, she then used a mock posh Valeian accent: "I Admit, she's… cute. I mean remove the tail and she's stunningly Beautiful…" She sighed, "Never have I somehow been flattered and flat out insulted at the same time."

"Someone said that to you!?" Alden asked horrified.

"Well not to me… But to my dad when I was standing next to him."

"What happened after that? Please tell me you or your dad broke _something _on him."

"No, I mean, I wanted to, but my dad told me not to."

"So, nothing happened to him?"

"Oh no, Dad then went and told Veera what he said."

"And?"

"Let's just say there's a new role in the Valeian government: Supreme lord of the stationary cupboard."

Alden burst out laughing and had to hold onto a lamppost to hold himself up.

"That's good, I like that. So, what's his actual job title?"

"That, it actually says that on his badge: _Supreme lord of the stationary cupboard. _He has to work there for a year before he's allowed out."

"I like this woman already." Alden said regaining his balance and standing upright again. Maya nodded.

"She's a great councilwoman, she takes care of the Alethas really well. She's always on the news supporting the Faunus and their protests."

Alden nodded "I've seen her before; she's done some really…"

Alden's voice drowned out of her attention when her eyes landed on a shop. It's windows still had bullet holes in them, and they had been darkened to stop anyone looking in, with police tape blocking the door: Tukson's book trade. She closed her eyes an took manual control of her breathing, trying to stop the panic welling up inside her chest as the memories flashed before her eyes.

She was snapped back to reality when she felt Alden very carefully, almost nervously threaded his fingers with hers and squeezed her hand. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. He had a grimm smile on his face.

"Come on." He said quietly, "Let's get out of here." And slowly began to pull her away from the shop, her eyes lingering on as she allowed herself to move. They walked on in silence for a minute before moving over a bridge. Once they got midway across it, Maya stopped again and leaned against the railing, looking down at the water below.

Since seeing the shop her thoughts were all jumbled, and it was proving difficult to get her head straight. "I'm sorry." She apologised to Alden who had moved to stand beside her.

"Don't apologise." He said, turning to face her "You take as long as you need." Maya nodded but kept her head trained on the water, watching it flow between the supports of the bridge. It seemed to help calm her and she started to feel better after a few minutes.

"Okay," She said, flicking part of her fringe away from her eye, "Let's go." Alden was eyeing her sceptically but relented.

Once they reached the other side of the bridge, they crossed two more roads, and walked the length of a third before they reached Maya's house. This time since they weren't being ushered in Alden took a longer look at the place.

Although it was nice Alden didn't think the place could be any different from his, firstly there were two other house directly next to it, rather than at least a few hundred feet away, it was made of brick instead of wood, with a garden big enough to hold a single car. Beyond that was a small gravel circle with a grass island in the centre, with a small water feature in the middle. It was nice, but it made him all the more thankful he lived on Patch.

Maya walked past the car and Opened the door, walking in and holding it open for Alden. He shut it behind them and found himself back within the white hallway. He watched Maya slowly walk down it and entered the kitchen where her parents where. They looked up when she entered.

"Maya!" Beth said and rushed over to crush her in a hug. Followed soon by John.

"How are you holding out?" He asked.

"I- I'm alright." She said, looking down at the floor, "I passed his shop on the way here."

Beth nodded, a sad smile on her face. "I'm sure you'll find who did this."

"Which leads me to one reason why I came round. But first: There's this big dance going on tomorrow, and I don't have anything appropriate for it. Any Ideas?" She asked her mother.

Beth paused in fourth for a second before perking up. "Yep, I know which one." Beth quickly hurried down the hallway to the stairs and spotted Alden by the door.

"Alden! So good to see you!" She said, smiling in greeting. "Why are you hiding down here?"

"It seemed like a family moment," He replied, "I didn't want to intrude."

"Oh nonsense, you're always welcome here!" Alden smiled in thanks, "Go on," Beth said nodding behind her shoulder, "They're talking about huntress stuff."

"All right I'll do that." He said and made his way down the hallway.

"I didn't want to talk about this over the phone just in case," Maya said, pressing buttons on her scroll, bringing up the video Aegan had taken outside Tukson's shop. And placed it on the table. "Any idea who these people are?"

John saw the blank masks and all the colour drained from his face. "Maya, where did you see these people?"

"Outside Tukson's, I was told it made the news," She said looking at Alden, "But I never saw it myself."

"It did, but their faces were blurred out." Alden corrected; John nodded at him.

"That they were. I didn't call you at the time, figured you'd probably wanted time to yourself."

Maya sadly nodded. "Yeah, that was probably best."

"I have seen several mentions in various reports about these masked people, but the reports will suddenly get classified. Even _Veera _can't get at them, which means at least one of the other councilmen are hiding it.

"Great." Maya said, "So Furla was right."

"who?" John asked.

"Oh, a friend from Beacon." _Well, that's mostly true_. Alden thought. John looked puzzled with a hint of recognition on his face, but he seemed to pass it off.

John sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look, all I can tell is that they're not like other organisations such as the White-Fang that just want attention. These people don't want to be known and they do it with brutal efficiency."

"They were quite easy to beat actually." Alden muttered.

"That's because they likely haven't gone up against huntsman and huntresses before." John said

"But if you knew about them, surly others have as well and why hasn't anyone asked any hunters to investigate?" Maya asked.

"Someone has…" John said with a dark look in his eyes.

"And?" Maya pressed.

"She disappeared off the face of the planet, no one knows where she went. Anyone else doesn't want to run the risk, me included I'm afraid."

"Right, so not only are they running around kidnapping people left, right and centre they have an official government seal to boot. Am I the only one whose highly, highly concerned about this?"

"I'm afraid I may already know the answer, but the fact you just asked me about them means you're not dropping them, are you?" John said.

"We can't, we think they have a massive link to the dust robberies that are going on, as well as they have a girl as a hostage."

"If they're semi-official why do they need a hostage?" John asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

"They're using her to control a dust scientist." Alden said.

"And they have something to do with the dust robberies, makes sense. You aren't going into this in the dark are you"

Maya shook her head, we're doing the shadow missions soon, so we'll be going with an actual huntsman or huntress."

John nodded slowly. "And when will you be leaving?"

"Probably the day after tomorrow."

"And there's no way I can talk you out of this?"

"They're holding a girl hostage dad, if they find out that we've freed her father…"

"Wait-

"It's a long story," Maya said, "If they find out we've freed him, we don't know what they'll do to her."

"But diving headfirst into their operations? It's too dangerous."

"If they had me, or Mike or Jack, and then the only huntsmen and huntresses that knew about it wouldn't go because it was "too dangerous" how would you feel?"

John sighed, "I…"

Maya turned to look at Alden "We have to try." She said. "She's counting on us."

John slowly nodded, "Ok… just be safe, and call us before you leave."

"I will." Maya said and hugged him. She looked up to see her mother resting against the doorframe, with a clothes bag rolled up in her hands.

Maya pulled away and also hugged her mother before accepting the rolled bag and placing it inside her rucksack.

"Come home safe." Beth said.

"Course I will. Can't make any promises for the rest of these idiots though." She said whilst smiling back at Alden.

"Wow…" Alden said, "That's because you use us to take the hits for you so you can take three years to sneak up behind them."

"I do not!"

"You do!"

"When?" She challenged crossing her arms.

"That fight against Weiss and Blake in Goodwitch's class two weeks ago is just one example."

"I was not using you!"

"Your words were, and I quote: Keep them distracted I'll get behind them."

"It was a valid tactic!"

"It took you three years before you got back in the fight!"

"That's because Blake would be able to hear me move."

"I was deliberately using all the fire dust I had to make as much noise to cover for you!"

Beth looked at John, "Geese they argue any more than this and they'll be married by the end of next week."

Maya suddenly stopped her rant. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" She singed.

"You're up to som-

She was interrupted when hers and Alden's scroll buzzed in their pockets, she reached in to have a look at it.

"Aegan and Nite are waiting for us at the park." She said, shouldering her bag. "We should probably get going." Maya hugged her parents once more before filing out into the corridor.

"Well, I'll call you on Saturday before we leave, and hope nothing goes wro-

Alden slapped his hand over her mouth.

"We do not say those words Maya, the universe is an imaginative place, we do _not _need to give it inspiration."

Maya sighed and pushed his hand away, "Fair point, nothing ever _good_ has happened when someone has said that."

"No, it hasn't." Alden turned and smiled at John and Beth "It was good seeing you again, in more… peaceful circumstances."

"likewise." Beth said. "When you come back get your team round, celebratory dinners on us."

Alden smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

Alden and May turned and waved as they headed back onto the street and turned right and headed back to the park.

**So, the chapter was so nearly ready to go out, and then I thought I better double check what Vacuo was like because I was bad and didn't do my research first so sue me. Turns out Vacuo **_**isn't**_** a coastal city which meant the entire Azerra scene needed re writing which cause holes in the rest of the chapter, so I had a lot of patching to do Sorry!**

**On other news, Volume 2 is now as big as volume 1 in its entirety and we're still not done so I really hope you're enjoying this. Also, the 100 A4 page barrier for volume 2 has been broken with this chapter, so this is a record chapter.**

**Join us next time as we visit Aegan's home and learn about his family and return to Patch before the dance. **


	20. Vol 2 Ch 8: The Lanid Festival Massacre

Vol 2 Ch 8: The Lanid Festival Massacre

**Ok so how many of you saw the title of this chapter and went "I remember that! That was mentioned in volume 1!" Well, it's finally time ladies and gentlemen!**

"Ok, so what is it?" Nite said as she turned to wave at Maya and Alden.

"What do you mean?" Aegan replied, shoving his hands in the pocket of his jumper, keeping his head down as he dodged around a group of tourists from Mistral.

Nite sighed and clenched her fists. "Aegan I don't even need my semblance to realise you're about to jump out of your skin."

"I'm not!" He said.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that." Nite challenged.

Aegan slowly turned to face her, only to see the reddish-grey blob of Aura in her hand. His ears drooped across his head. She was impossible.

Nite put her hand on his shoulder, "What is it Aegan?" She asked.

"I… I just don't want to go home."

"Why's that?"

"It's not exactly the nicest of places, but I need to check up on my mum, see if she's doing Ok."

"What do you mean it's not the nicest of places?"

"You're going to see soon enough."

They carried on walking, further and further away from the centre of the city. The long straight blocks of terraced homes began to give way to smaller blocks and even a few detached houses. The traffic was heavier here as there were less people walking around and virtually no Vytal decorations as all the tourists would be deeper into the city.

They soon came to a stop in front of a small house at the end of a three-terrace block. Its garden was small but bigger than Maya's house. Most of it was covered by grass with a single flowerbed, the rest was a gravel driveway.

They walked towards the door, their feet crunching over the small stones. Nite did not fail to see Aegan seemingly leaning away from the door, wanting to be anywhere but there.

"Hey," Nite said, putting her hand on his arm, "We can be in and out OK? Let's just grab what you need and get back to the others."

"Right…" Aegan sighed, trying to believe her. With a subtly shaky hand he reached out and pulled down on the handle. The door clucked and swung open leading into a dark hallway and Aegan led her inside.

The walls were painted a dark grey, with no windows inside the best word to describe the hallway was murky, Nite suddenly felt the urge to turn back the way she came. She chastised herself, she may have bad feelings, but it can't be that bad. It's just that this place felt so… _sad._

"Aegan?" A voice asked from down the hallway. A click could be heard and suddenly the hallway was bathed in a dim orange light.

On the other side was a short man, he looked like he was hunched over and wearing clothes too big for him. He had the same dark hair as Aegan and even from here his grey eyes shone. Atop his head were two triangular ears, slowly starting to raise.

Nite looked at Aegan. He looked like he had tears brimming in his eyes, and his ears were quivering.

"Hi dad." He said quietly. Before running forward and engulfing him in a massive bear hug.

The man's laughter rang out down the hallway. "Oh, it's good to see you!" He said resting his head on top of his son's, "It's good to see you." He said holding Aegan out by the shoulder at arm's length.

He suddenly looked up to see Nite standing at the other side of the hallway. "Oh! I'm sorry I didn't see you there!" He said and walked up to her holding out his hand. "I'm Malcom, Aegan's father."

"Nite, Aegan's partner." She said smiling and shaking his hand.

"Partner eh?" He said turning his head to look at Aegan suggestively.

"At Beacon dad, at Beacon." Aegan said rolling his eyes with an exasperated smile.

"I jest, I jest." Malcom replied smiling brightly at her. Before turning back to his son. "So I trust there's a reason for your visit?"

"Yeah, I need to see if have anything to wear to this ball… thing that's happening tomorrow."

"Ah, I see. Well go on, I won't hold you long." Aegan smiled and jogged up the stairs to their right.

Left alone Nite looked around, yes, the house seemed dark but that wasn't a good enough reason for the feelings beating off the walls here.

"You're an empath." Malcom said, more as a statement than a question, the sound of his voice snapping Nite back to reality. Nite blinked in shock at him, not many people can guess Semblances with that accuracy.

"My mother has a very similar semblance to you; I recognised the look on your face." He smiled fondly "I can never get away with anything when that women's around." He said, "And from what I've heard neither can Aegan with you!" He said quietly laughing to himself. "I've heard a lot about you and your team."

"I don't know if I'm treading somewhere where I shouldn't. But why is he acting strange here? I can feel it pouring off him."

Malcom sighed. "Come with me." He said and led her to the end of the hallway and into what looked like the living room. On the mantel piece above a small fireplace was a frame, inside held a huntress licence and next to it a smiling picture of a woman ears raised high on top of her head and holding a doubled bladed sword.

Nite's mouth opened slightly in surprise and she briskly walked across the room to more closely inspect the picture.

"The weapon…" She whispered before turning back to Malcom, "Umbra was his mother's?"

Malcom sadly nodded. "She died protecting a village from a Grimm invasion, her weapon was the only thing left. Aegan never left it out of his sight again." He reached over an picked the frame up, smiling at the picture. "It reminds him of her… keeps her close." He placed the picture back down, "I don't know why but he displaced all his hurt on this place, that's how he copes, why he seems so happy when he's out and about, but he can hardly stand it here… I don't see much of him nowadays."

"But why? Why not try and be a part of his life more?"

"I don't know if you ever want kids of your own one day. But if you ever do, then you will realise that you will happily be the empty vesicle of your child's pain if it helps to take it away. If I do the most good for him by being here, then that's what I'll do."

Nite's expression softened. The noise of a few footsteps behind her caused her to turn around to see Aegan standing at the doorway rolling up a suit carrier and stuffing it into his bag.

"You got everything?" Malcom asked. Aegan nodded.

Malcom escorted them back to the front door before hugging his son once more. "Enjoy your dance tomorrow."

Aegan nodded and gave a sideways glance over at Nite who was observing the picture hanging on the wall, "It can't go that bad." He said and smiled at Malcom before opening the door and the pair made their way back out onto the road.

They where quiet for a while before Nite broke the silence.

"I'm sorry for questioning why you didn't want to go home; I shouldn't have pushed."

Aegan seemed to contemplate her words for a second.

"So, he told you about her then?" Nite nodded slowly.

"I Just… I just miss her, and… I love my dad, don't get me wrong, but being there, being there with him just reminds me of what it was, how it could be… and how it isn't."

Nite nodded sadly, "yeah… I know how you feel…"

They carried in silence for another road before Aegan looked at her.

"How did you get over it? After… Losing everyone."

Nite drifted to a stop and clenched her eyes as the dormant grief inside her tried to wrench it's way free as Nite tried to stamp it down.

"I…" She sighed, "I never did."

Aegan tried to quickly backtrack.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you."

"No, it's alright." She said as she started to walk again. "It just always makes me feel what would have happened if I was with them? I mean, all I wanted was to get a drink."

The sun was high in the sky and belting heat at the desert below. Though to the residents of Vacuo, resting underneath the hide shades covering the field it was of little concern. At the other end was a huge steel construction, with swinging multi-coloured lights and massive banks of speakers rose up from either side. Filling the field where thousands of people, all milling around, talking and laughing.

The Lanid festival was an annual event in Vacuo, and an incredibly popular one. Held during the summer solstice, where the sun was out the longest and most of the time the hottest. Many considered it the worst day of the year, the extreme temperature able to put the hardy Vacuons in a state of heat induced lethargy. Others considered it the best, a time of celebration, cheer, and kinship.

None of them knew that this year all the optimism about this day would be torn away.

"Hey Nite!" Nite's father Daniel called "Where did you run off too?"

Daniel was a short man, but stocky in build. It was obvious who Nite inherited her sandy blonde hair from. He was a huntsman and the main inspiration in Nite following the same path. Although possessing an incredible it was his ability to determine when to not use violence led to him often being called in on hostage situations and being able to disarm a tense situation without it coming to blows.

"Oh, I saw Sophie back there, just went to catch up." Nite replied, hurriedly getting back under the shade to get the sun off her.

"Sophie's here?" Neeve asked, "I thought she was studying."

Her mother on the other hand was relatively tall, had naturally wavy Auburn hair and was where Nite got most of her temperament from. She was a Pilot in the Vacuon air force. Nite spent hours with her in the simulators learning to fly, her mother's enthusiasm was contagious.

"Everyone said they were studying, but hey… who would miss this?" Nite said shrugging.

Neeve shook her head but smiled "You may regret doing this."

"Maybe" Nite said laughing "But I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

"More like _burn_ that bridge when you don't pay enough attention." Daniel said.

Nite narrowed her eyes at him, "oh come on dad, you can't blame me for wanting to spend time with everyone today."

Daniel smiled and ruffled her hair "No… no I can't" he then pushed her away, "Go on… go find your sisters and bring them back here before they get themselves in trouble."

Nite sighed "What could they possibly do to get themselves in… Actually, I retract that statement, they're gonna find a way somehow."

Neeve laughed "exactly, go on, we'll be here." Nite nodded and got back to her feet and left the lovely protection of their shade and back into the scorching sun.

"Where would they be…?" Nite said to herself, looking around and over the endless mass of people. They would not have strayed far. The field was covered in large wooden poles sticking out the ground to hold up the shades. She noticed several people pulling up the long grass weeds which were dotted about to make grass whistles.

Nite kicked the sand clumps as she walked in a spiral pattern away from their family's shade, checking every group of people for her siblings. She waved to the Corlets' a family of snake Faunus. As she passed.

"Are you looking for the twins?" Ben, the youngest of the family called out to her.

"Yeah, have you seen where they've gone?" Nite asked as she ducked into their shade and happily accepted a glass of water Ellie offered to her. It was unwise to be outside and walking about in Vacuo without consuming large amounts of water.

"Yeah they're over that way" Ben said pointing behind him, I saw them talking to Derick."

Nite hung her head "urghh… really?"

"I don't they know who he is."

"I swear if he even _thinks _of laying a finger on them." Nite said as she got up, "Thanks ben, you've been a great help."

"Anytime." He said as Nite stormed off in the direction he had said.

It did not take long for Nite to find them. And low and behold Lily and Hestia where talking to Derick. It made her feel sick. Derick was a bully and a class A prick, but if he like the look of some ladies he turned up the charm. He tried it with her once, it did not go well for him. They hadn't gotten along since.

"Lily, Hestia, come on, dad want's us to come back." She said resting her hand on the handle of her sword.

"What are you doing here?" Derick glowered, "Im just talking to the lovely ladies here."

"The "lovely ladies" aren't interested," She said before turning back to her sisters, "come on guys let's go."

Lily and Hestia looked confused but followed her anyway.

"Why? He didn't seem that bad."

"And why did you put your hand on Laurel?"

"Because, that was Derick."

Lily and Hestia stopped in their tracks.

"Wait. That's THE Derick?" Lily asked.

"Yes." Nite said crossing her arms "So you can see why I pulled you away."

Nite saw the expressions of Lily and Hestia harden, it never was a good thing when that happened.

They stormed back to Derick who had just turned to see Lily's fist as it went flying into his face. His aura shimmered at the impact.

"OW! What was that for!?" He cried before Hestia's boot slammed between hid legs as he crumpled to the ground. Even though several people turned to look at the commotion, no one battered an eyelid, this was normal in Vacuo.

"_That's_ what you get for messing with our sister." Lily spat, they both turned on their heels and walked back to Nite.

"Sorry," Hestia said, "We, didn't realise that was him."

Nite shook her head but smile, "Have I ever told you how proud I am of you both?"

"Yep many times," Lily said, "Come one let's get back to mum and dad."

The trio passed several shades and Nite gave a thumbs up to ben as they walked past the Corlets again.

"Ahh, there they are!" Daniel said as he spotted them approaching. "What happened?"

"Let's just say Derick will talking in a few high octaves for a while." Hestia said.

Daniel winced, "You girls can get scary at times, kicking a mand _down there_ should not be done so freely."

"Don't worry he deserved everything he got." Nite said.

"And more…" Lily muttered under her breath.

Nite looked up as a pair of Red Stalks flew overhead Cawing loudly at the crowds below.

Nite sat crossed legged on the large mat covering the floor under the shade as Daniel took his bottle and took a large gulp.

"We're running out of water already." He said sighing, "Why does it have to be so hot?"

"Because we're in a desert in the middle of summer…" Neeve said, smiling at her husband.

"Can't argue with that logic" Hestia piped up.

"I'll get some more soon." Nite said grabbing a coolgel pack from a box on the floor and pressing it to her forehead.

Suddenly all noise was drowned out by cheering from the assembled crowd. Nite looked up to see several waving figures walk onto the stage at the end of the field. Above the Steel girders a large screen flickered to life and the word "Meserine" flashed across the screen with some flashy background effects.

"HELLO EVRYBODY!" The one standing in the centre holding a microphone said. His voice amplified so much it easily cut over the already deafening cheers. He was met with an ear-splitting scream in reply and Nite clamped her hands over her ear.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned to see Lily mime drinking from a glass at her and a pleading face- unable to talk over the crowd.

Nite nodded and turned as a small smirk formed on her face. She touched the glass on the ground but didn't pick it up. She flicked her wrist and her palm flashed as her arura morphed into the shape of a glass with water in it. She turned back to Lily and offered it to her. She smiled in thanks and lifted it up to her lips and tipped her head back, before opening her eyes in confusion as no water entered her mouth. The glass was no longer there, and she accusingly looked at Nite who was quietly laughing.

She cocked her head to the side and a smile curled up at the corner of her mouth.

"_Really?"_ She mouthed at Nite. Nite felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned to see her mother looking at her, using the: _Don't use your semblance to tease your _sister look. Nite smiled apologetically before pouring her a real glass of water and handed it back to Lily. She eyed it sceptically and even dipped her finger in it check if it was real. Satisfied she eagerly chugged it down.

Like most things at the Lanid festival. The music was deafening, and Nite really had to strain her hearing to properly hear what was coming out of the speakers. All around her people were cheering and bouncing up and down with their hands in the air. She really never got why people did that, as her mother said it was summertime in a _desert_ of all places, and people think moving about for vast quantities of people was a good idea. She liked sitting back, closing her eyes, and just listening.

They were quite good actually, for an opener of one of the main events they were trying to make a name for themselves, and with all festivals of this kind, some were good, somewhere drop-dead amazing and others were just apocalyptically _dreadful_.

After a few songs they began to wrap up.

"Alright Everyone, that's our lot done for the day." The singer said into his microphone, "I know the entrance exams for shade begin tomorrow, my sister's taking them as well so good luck to you all who definitely _should _be studying right now, but I'll still thank you for being out here listening to us. Thank you for having us and enjoy the rest of the show!" The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as they waved one last time and exited off the side of the stage.

"They weren't bad." Neeve said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they hit the big times given a few years." Lily remarked.

Nite looked down at the empty water keg and her mouth felt dry. "I'm going to get more water." She said hefting the large barrel in her arms looking around. "Which way is it?"

"That way." Daniel said pointing to the rear of the field.

"Ok, I'll be back in a minute." She said and exited the cover of the shade, as it got closer to midday the sun was getting hotter and hotter, at this point it was accepted that people jumped from shade to shade as they travelled about so no one accidently spontaneously combusts, (A bear Faunus who had forgotten that they had left a fire dust crystal in their pocket- it's a long story.) It was a strange feeling; under the shades it was relatively cool but out in the sun it was like it was raining fire. So, moving about felt like being burned alive and freezing to death at regular intervals.

By the time she got to the rear of the field it was much quieter and so she wasn't immediately deafened when the main act came on. "Nordak" was likely one of the most popular bands in Vacuo and the noise mirrored their stature. Even in this quieter area of the field, Nite still felt it was best to cover her ears. Apart from being incredibly good musicians, one of the main reasons they were so popular is that they strived for equality between Humans and Faunus, the group itself was an even split of the two species. They also actively denounced the White Fang, declaring that equality could only be gained by earning respect, not fear.

It would also explain why Nite had recognised extra security van arriving just before they came on stage, she wouldn't be surprised if the band were a target.

She quickly hurried to one of the water stands as she didn't want to miss it. She had a minute or two as the band arrived and talked a bit to the crowd. She dumped the heavy barrel under the tap and open a small hole to allow the water in as she turned on the tap, tapping impatiently at the barrel as she waited for it to fill up.

That's when she heard the first scream.

It was quiet under the noise of the crowd, but unmistakeable. Nite turned around in hopes to see where it came from. But it was impossible to see clearly through the large mass of people.

She heard another scream, this time accompanied by several gunshots.

And then it erupted.

Everything was in chaos as some people started running, other's shouting in confusion. Abandoning the barrel Nite sprinted into the crowd and drew her sword as she ran.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the flurry of a robe, she slowed ever so slightly as she saw a man pull out a concealed rifle and aimed it at the family next to him, with several confused children hugging onto their parent's legs.

The blade of her sword shunted outboards as it expanded and she flicked it hard over her head, causing a cracking sound that could be heard over the sound of the screams. The whip wrapped itself around the barrel of the rifle and Nite yanked it out of his hands as she charged towards him. As Note got closer, she kicked off the ground and slammed her fist into the man's face, causing him to stumble as she twirled behind him before slamming her elbow down on his temple, knocking him out cold. She looked up to see the family she just saved staring at her in shock.

"What are you still doing here!? RUN!" She shouted and then took off further into the crowd.

Her Aura flickered and she winced in pain as a bullet slammed into her shoulder, she skidded to a holt and twisted under another bullet as she slid. She then pushed off the ground and twisted her whip around, catching onto her assailant's ankle and yanked. The woman screamed as her ankles were shredded in tiny cuts and crumpled to the ground.

Flashes of gunshots were everywhere as she ran, she didn't have time to even consider how many in the crowds where in on the slaughter, but she kept running, constantly scanning from her family.

She dodged around one family before slashing at another Faunus aiming a rifle at them, ducked under his punch before rolling over his back and slamming his legs from under him. She looked up to see her dad Swinging a large Warhammer at another attacker. She looked down at the man she had just tripped up, he wore a mask over his eyes, with red markings.

The White Fang.

She looked up again, there where so many security vans here, why wasn't anyone doing anything?

A flying body snapped her back to attention, her dad had just slammed his attacker back several feet and they crashed down on the dusty floor in a coughing heap.

Daniel had turned back to the rest of her family to check that they were ok when Nite looked back at the man who had just hit the ground, he had pushed his torso slightly off the ground and was staring at her family, he reached into his pocket and drew out a small device, he flicked a switch and his thumb moved down to press a large button.

Nite's blood froze. She could scarcely remember what happened next, just a slow-motion blur. Repeating again and again in her nightmares

"DAD!" She screamed running towards them, she needed to get the away, get them _out._

She wasn't fast enough… She never was.

The next thing she knew there was a giant yellow flash, and she felt her feet leave the ground, she was tumbling, and she couldn't tell which way was up. She crashed down into the ground, and it all went blank.

Nite coughed as she opened her eyes, and automatically rolled onto her knees, trying to spit out the sand that was in her mouth. She felt something hard slam into her stomach as she was kicked, and she rolled onto her back. She felt her aura shimmering as she tried to look up at her attacker, but all she saw was a blur. She saw the shape of a man looking down at her, holding something to her face, likely a gun.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

She heard a large thud above her, but she didn't feel anything. Scared she opened her eyes again to see the sky. Another shape filled her vision this time, something more familiar. It grabbed her and pulled her to her feet.

"Nite!" Daniel shouted shaking her "Nite snap out of it!"

Suddenly all the noise flooded back to her and her vision snapped back into focus. She looked around quickly, there were bodies _everywhere_, several people where running, fighting, dyeing. But then she looked at her father. If he was here then where were…

She regretted that decision ever since.

Neeve's body was covering her sister's in one last desperate attempt to shield them. The back of her shirt was ruined, and blood was seeping out the rest. She couldn't see Lily underneath her, but she could see Hestia. Her arm was… _gone_, so was most of her face. With and Angry welt by her eye with a large piece of shrapnel sticking out.

Nite recoiled back into her father's embrace. The horror not quite setting in, but her survival instincts were trying to keep her focused. Without an Aura to protect them, the bomb just… ripped them to pieces. She could sense that her father's Aura had broken in the blast, he was vulnerable too.

"Nite, you need to run. _Now._" Her father ordered.

Stepping back slightly Nite shook her head, "No. I won't leave you… them…"

Daniel looked over his shoulder and darted to the right.

"Nite. RUN!"

Then there was a bang. Nite's stomach felt warm, she looked down to see blood…

But not hers.

Daniel collapsed to his knees as he stared at her.

"_Run._"

Nite could only stare at her father as he fell to the dust.

She should run, she knows but she just feels numb.

"_Run._"

"_Run._"

"_Run._"

But she can't. Every fibre in her body is screaming at her to move, but she just _can't_. She fell to her knees next to her father's body and covered her face with her hand's and just screamed, muffled by her hands.

She heard a click behind her, a gun. She prepared for the end.

But then… she seemed to see in a different perspective. There was herself an angry, terrified blob in the centre of her being. But… there where other's all moving about, some angry, some _gleeful._ Most where terrified, all little blobs of colour moving about, all funnelling into her. Angry that it disturbed her from her void she _pushed _it.

There was another bang… But she didn't feel anything. Slowly she turned and opened her eyes. She could see her attacker, standing, pointing a rifle at her, looking surprised.

Between them was a spiralling disc, red and black. Somehow… Nite could _feel_ it, in the back of her mind. She tried pushing the feeling away, only to see the disc move. The man fired again, and it bounced harmlessly off her new shield. And she felt the bullet press back in her mind.

Finally, she understood it, these were…_ emotions_. Her's and everyone else's nearby and she had just… solidified them. She could… _control_ them. The sheer ferocity of the emotions running about was giving the shield it's power.

The man fired again which finally drew her attention to him. His face… He was the one that pressed the button.

She could feel it change within her, she was becoming less scared by the second, being replaced by an angry red.

The shield split apart, suddenly above her head where six Javelin shaped objects, lazily spinning in a circle above her head. Her gaze went back down to the man in front of her. She _Pushed._

Two of the Javelins slammed into his shoulders in quick succession, then one in his stomach. Two more fired into his chest as he staggered back, before the final one impaled straight into his face. A sickly crack could be heard as his skull shattered like a nut.

The Air filled with the sounds of jets as several Bullheads flew above dropping teams of huntsman and huntresses onto the field. But Nite payed them not attention, slumping down next to her family and hugging the cooling body of her father. Sobs wracked her body.

She heard footsteps behind her, and a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

"Nite" The person said. In the back of her mind Nite recognised the voice of her Uncle amongst several gasps and a sob. "Come on."

Nite's Uncle Isaac was on her father's team and she assumed the gasps came from the rest of them.

Nite often considered how he must have felt that day, trying to comfort his sobbing niece clinging to the body of his dead brother surrounded by the broken remains of her family.

Her Aura flickered and finally shattered under the stress of the emotions she was feeling from herself and everyone around her, she didn't know how to feel.

"Come on." Isaac said gently as she felt two set of hands on her shoulders, gently trying to lift her away.

"NO!" She screamed, yanking out of their grip and covered the remains of her family, her unstable and terrified mind hadn't recognised they were friendly. She would defend her family's remains to her death.

"Back off." Isaac said quietly to his team. "She'll fight like a cornered animal." He wasn't wrong. At this point Nite didn't even think about the sword on her hip.

"Masie can I have some?" He asked and took a syringe from his teammate. He slowly approached Nite and gently applied it to her neck before pushing the plunger.

Slowly Nite's movements got more sluggish and her vision blurred again, and her head dropped down onto her mother's legs.

Nite slowly clambered up the tree in Ferendale park and looked at Aegan as he sat next to her.

"Later when I woke in hospital, my Uncle told me I was one of seven people who survived." She said quietly. "But yes, to answer your question… I don't think I'll ever get over it, it just becomes something you live with."

Aegan solemnly nodded, he knew the feeling well. "I'm sorry, I know that it always hurts thinking about it."

Nite almost laughed, but she actually smiled. "Strangely it feels good to finally tell someone what happened, I've been carrying that around with me for a year. It was nice just to… let it all go, for once."

Aegan smiled in return. "Well I'm glad I could help then."

Aegan looked at Nite, she was smiling as she watched some children playing nearby. He could see it more clearly than ever now. Under the carefully made mask she held up, there was a shattered girl underneath, on that was barely holding herself together. Yet she was still here, always trying to put the next foot forward. He felt his admiration for his teammate grow even further.

Nite saw him looking at her. "What?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

Aegan shook his head, "Hmm? Oh, nothing."


	21. 1st Anniversary!

So here we are!

Welcome everyone! This day last year, MANA was first released. I mean it wasn't very good (and it probably still isn't) but it's a milestone none the less.

I want to thank every single one of you that has been with me up to this point. It's been an absolute pleasure to write this so far (although it's likely already taken up too much of my life but there we go). MANA went from a few scraps of paper to its release in about a week, so I'm sorry of there seems to be holes or inconsistencies or anything else which is really irritating to read, but I'm doing my best!

So yeah, if You've been here from the start than I can't thank you enough for putting up with me, and If you're a recent addition then Welcome! I hope you've enjoyed it thus far and I hope you stick with me until the end.

Chapter 9: the dance, is well underway and we get to see all the shenanigans that happen then so I hope you're looking forward to it.

As I said, I can't thank you enough and I'll see you soon!

Stay safe everyone

Etherway


	22. Vol 2 Ch 9: Final Preparations

Vol 2 Ch 9: Final Preparations

_Up, down, up, down, up, down, up down._

Alden stood at the prow of the Sapphire wave as it slipped its way over the top of the waves, slowly bucking back and forth over the waves. The sea was quite rough today. Maya and Nite were holding onto the large steel cleats to help the balance, Aegan had gone inside because he felt sick. It took a fair amount of experience to be able to read the movement on the ship to hold your balance.

Up ahead, Alden could see the small green blur in the distance, it was harder to see Patch than usual through the sea haar. The Mist covered the sky and made Alden's skin feel damp as the moisture condensed on him. He turned to look back, Maya had attempted to pull her jacket tighter around herself and Nite was following suit whilst shivering violently.

"Go inside, you two are freezing." Alden said Hopping down from the step at the bow.

"H, h, h, h how do you stand it out here?" Nite stuttered as her teeth clattered against the cold.

"You get used to it." Alden said, feeling a small shiver run up his spine, "After a few years."

Nite shook her head and stood up. "Alright, I'm going in." She said and rushed for the door of the heated cabin of the ship.

"Go on," Alden said, turning to Maya, "You go too."

"I'm alright." Maya said, slowly getting to her feet and carefully made her way beside him looking out to see whilst tucking her hands inside the woolly sleeves of her jacket. "Where did this come from anyway?"

"Most likely blowoff from a storm North of here." Alden said pointing into the wind, "Since we can't see it yet I'd say we'd definitely be back to Beacon by the time it hits."

Maya nodded and stood on her tiptoes to look down at the wash of the prow of the ship as it broke the waves. Alden noticed that she had shivered again, and her tail had long since folded up inside the back of her jacket in an attempt to gain extra warmth, forming a comedic bump sticking out the back of her jacket. Shaking his head Alden unzipped the small pouch resting at his waist and pulled out a decently sized fire dust crystal, one of a few he'd bought on the way back to the park, he thought it was best to get as much as he could carry for their mission ahead. He gently tapped it against the side of the boat to cause a small reaction and relished the sudden heat that filled his palm. He pulled open the popper or Maya's jacket's pocket and dropped the crystal inside and resealed the pocket.

Maya quickly looked down when she felt the extra weight. "What did you…" She paused as the heat from the crystal suddenly flooded out of her pocket. "Oh, that's better." She said and pulled her jacket even tighter to her person. They didn't say much after that, they simply watched the waves role by as the ferry fought its way to Patch through the choppy waters.

Ahead looming out of the haze the port could be seen with greater clarity and the ship turned to starboard to counter the heading they had lost due to being slightly blown of course. As it turned again to head into the dock Captain Tiller made his way onto the deck to help direct the ship in.

Maya watched as Tiller stood on the box Alden had occupied not long ago and he lent over the side to see where the fenders were in relation to the edge of the dock.

"Ah, bloody hell, I can't see that stupid rock." He grunted to himself. Maya looked at Alden with a questioning eyebrow raised.

"There's a massive boulder that sticks up above the water during low tide." Alden said, "but in gales such as this it's hard to see as the ship is buffeted by the waves." He looked back at Tiller, "I better go see if I can help." He was gone in a sudden flash at rematerialized on the concrete docks.

"It's just off you starboard bow!" Alden shouted to be heard partly over the wind whistling though the buildings and partly due to the distance. "You need to turn hard to port!"

Tiller turned around "Hard to port!" He called and the boat immediately began to twist away from the rock. The boat moved for only two seconds before Alden called again.

"Okay! That's good! Straighten out!"

"Centre Line!" Tiller called and the boat slowed it's turn and slowly chugged it's way into the slip of the dock. Alden began walking alongside the boat as it drifted in. Maya let her tail slip from her jacket and clambered onto the side of the ship to look down at the water's below, her tail extending to help her balance. She could see several fish quickly scrambling to get out of the way of the ship's prow, as well as

"That's enough!" Alden called from barely a head above her. The Boat drifted to a stop. Alden offered a hand down to her. Maya accepted the offer and allowed herself to be hauled up onto the dock. Captain Tiller threw up a large rope to Alden who caught it and began mooring the ship to one of the huge steel cleats that lined the dock.

Maya saw Aegan and Nite make their way onto the deck as the large gangplank was raised up to the dock. Suddenly she felt very strange, like she was losing her balance and her vision began to rock.

"Whoah." She said, "Dizzy…" She moved her foot to hopefully correct her balance but nearly went tumbling off the edge.

"Careful!" Alden rushed as his hand snapped out, grabbing her arm and pulled her back onto the dock.

"What, is this?" Maya said as her vision swayed from left to right. Her hand reached out and grabbed onto Alden's sleeve to try and find a fixed point.

"Ohh!" Alden said smiling at her "You get Dingyitus!"

"Dingy… what?" She asked.

"Dingyitus, it's an unofficial name for it, but it's an optical illusion for some. Basically, your brain is used to the rocking of the ship so it's trying to predict the rocking even though you've made it to dry land which makes it feel like you're losing balance. Don't worry about it, it'll pass in a moment." Maya nodded slowly and released his arm, closing her eyes to try and stop the feeling of tipping. It didn't pass immediately but faded quickly enough that she felt that she could walk without problems.

The large metal gate slowly grunted to the side as they approached the exit of the docks. And the methodical thud of their boots on the tarmac soon turned to dusty scuffs as the surface turned to trodden dirt. Alden turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Thanks Jackie!" He called up at the tower next to the gate. Jackie simply just waved back at him and he turned again as they headed up the path. They weren't walking for long when Aegan's ears raised up high on his head, and Maya's head twitched.

"What is it?" Alden asked.

"I don't feel anything." Nite added.

"Engine," Aegan said "going pretty fast too."

"Ah ok. This one's nothing to worry about." Alden said and gestured to his teammates to follow him to edge of the road. Soon a dust cloud could be seen above the hill as the growl of the engine grew loud enough for Alden and Nite to hear. Soon a yellow streak rocketed over the top of the hill and raced down towards them. Alden put his fingers to his lips and produced a loud high-pitched whistle.

The bike screeched to a stop, skidding to the side to increase its drag as the engine dropped to a purr. Yang quickly removed her sunglasses, as Ruby spat some dust out of her mouth.

"Hey guys," Yang said "What you doing here?"

"Same as you." Alden said nodding to the bags strapped to the middle of saddle between Yang and Ruby."

"Next time Yang could you slow down a _bit_ more slowly?" Ruby asked rubbing her tongue as more gritty bits had stuck to it.

"Well don't open your mouth next time!" Yang smirked, looking behind her.

"So… how did the whole thing with Blake and the laser pointer go down?"

"Wait, you used a laser pointer on Blake!?" Maya asked.

"Yeaagh." Yang said rubbing the back of her neck.

"I told her not to." Ruby piped up

"Are you an idiot? Wait, what am I saying, of course you're an idiot!"

"How did it go?" Alden asked.

"Probably about as well as you said it would be." Yang said smiling sheepishly, "But on the bright side I think she's coming tomorrow!"

"That's good." Aegan said, "It wouldn't be the same without everyone there."

"So, has everyone got stuff for the dance tomorrow?" Yang asked."  
Aegan and I do." Maya said, "We're getting Alden's and then heading back into city to buy something for Nite."

"Fair enough, Ruby and I are going to restock on dust, so we may see you in the city."

"Alright we'll keep an eye out for you." Alden said as Bumblebee growled back to life.

"See you around!" Yang called in farewell as she gunned the throttle and Bumblebee launched off in a cloud of dust.

"Does she ever think to slow down?" Maya asked, mostly to herself.

"She's _Yang_, do you think the thought ever passes through her head?" Alden said shaking his head and they walked on, boots crunching under the small stones in the road.

Alden opened the door, relishing the slight creak as it moved.

"I'm home!" He called as the rest of the team filled in behind him. Mary's head pooped up over the back of the armchair in the corner of the room. Book quickly discarded she rushed over and crushed her brother in a hug.

"You're back!" She said, pulling back. "Didn't expect you to be here so soon."

"Can't stay for long, just need to grab something and head back into the city, need to go shopping."

"Oh! Well if that's the case, would you guys mind if I tag along?" Mary said, looking over his shoulder at the rest of the team, "I need to grab a few things. If of course, you guys don't mind…?" She said looking over Alden's shoulder.

"We'd love to have you." Maya said. Mary smiled.

"Cool! Thanks."

"Mary? Who are you talking t… Alden!" Ogora said as she appeared from the hallway. Alden walked forward and wrapped his mother in a hug.

"You haven't brought any strange things with you today?"

"Yep, sorry, I brought my team-

Alden was interrupted as Maya slapped him upside the back of his head.

"Hey! You used your hands that time! That's cheating!" Alden complained.

"You declare everything I do cheating." Maya said pointedly.

"that's because you're always cheating." Alden retorted.

"How does that make any sens…" Maya began but was quickly interrupted by Alden as he turned to his mother.

"There's this ball thing going on tomorrow, so I just came by to see if I had anything suitable buried in the back of my wardrobe."

"You're going to a ball?" Marcus said as he appeared from the kitchen. "I feel sorry for you."

"You're not exactly instilling me with confidence." Alden said.

"Nah, it's fine. Just use all your concentration on avoiding being stepped on and you'll get through the evening without visiting the infirmary."

"It's not that bad, and your father is not as bad of a dancer as he puts on." Ogora said, pointedly looking at her husband.

"I'm going to have to learn on the job." Alden said.

"You'll be fine." Mary replied.

Alden excused himself and slipped off his boots as he clambered up the staircase and turned to his room. He cherished seeing the view from his window again, he realised that he hadn't' slept in this rooms since he left for Beacon, he had only slept in the house once when his team stayed the night in the sitting room. He made his way to the wardrobe in the corner and opened the heavy oak door. Stuffed to the far left, behind literally every other item of clothing he owned was what he was looking for.

Alden, (not very surprisingly) hated suits. They were uncomfortable, way to tight just so it was considered "smart", they ripped under the slightest pressure, you weren't allowed to get it dirty and cost way to much for a irritating piece of fabric that you paid so much for just to worry about breaking it. The uniforms at Beacon were bad enough, but at least the designers understood they were being worn by huntsman and huntresses, and so the fabric was reinforced.

Alden had obtained this particular item of clothing a year ago, for his cousin's wedding, after the event he stuffed it in the back of his wardrobe and hadn't looked at it since. He just hoped it still fitted him.

He pulled it out and laid the carrying bag on his bed and unzipped the offending item. He quickly undressed and tried to slip the stupid thing on. He looked at the mirror: he hated it, it felt wrong but, in his father's immortal words: "If it feels wrong then it's probably right." It still fitted him… he thought so it was good enough.

"Everything all right?" Ogora said from the door. He turned and held his arms out in a T.

"Is this right?" He asked. His mother looked him up and down and nodded approvingly.

"Very good." She said and pulled the jacket down so it flattened out. "You look good in a suit."

"It would be better if it wasn't so uncomfortable…" Alden said. Ogora smiled.

"Your dad says the same thing." She reassured, "You'll do fine."

"Yeah, now I just need to figure out how to _dance._"

"It'll be okay. If you need it, find Yang, she'll be happy to give you a crash course."

"Crash being the operative word." Alden said," But I'll do that, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"You'll do great. Now get changed, Mary's ready to go and you need to visit the mall."

"That we do." Alden said as he shrugged the Jacket off and slipped it over the hanger in it's carrying bag.

He quickly swapped out the rest of his clothing and sighed in content when he was back in his usual getup. He folded the carrying bag into his rucksack and slung it over his shoulders, before heading back down the stairs. He noticed his team wasn't to be seen by the doorway, but he heard laughter coming from outside and the rustling of leaves.

"So, you off on your first mission soon?" His dad asked from his position leaning up against the back of the sofa.

"Yep, I think we leave the day after tomorrow." Alden replied, placing his bag down with the others by the shoe cupboard. Marcus nodded towards the door.

"Maya said you were heading to the top of the Kingdom if you could." Alden hummed in confirmation.

"Maranis, it has something to do with the dust robberies." Alden said. "We just need to get on a mission that heads there." Marcus scratched his chin.

"The dust robberies? Should have guessed you would end up in something deep."

"I wouldn't be a Cirq if I didn't." Alden replied, "You and mum foiled a plot to kill the queen of Vacuo."

"That we did." Marcus said grinning. "Just look after yourself out there. Whoever it is won't be happy to see you." Alden replied by deploying tempest, the blade gleamed in the descending sun through the window.

"They won't see me for long." He said. Marcus smiled and nodded.

"That being said," Marcus started, "I did a quick search of where you were going after Maya told me. If you get a mission there, then you will be heading into one of the remotest parts of Vytal." He said as he reached down to something on the sofa and pulled up a rucksack. "I took the liberty of packing you this." He said and handed it to him.

Strapped to the underside was a large rolled up piece of fabric, a tent, to be reinforced against trees or whatever shrubs he could find. Although the fabric was no where near as tough as the modern plasticky tents, it was far easier to repair on the fly. A sheath was strapped on the back with a large handle sticking up. Alden pulled it out slightly to reveal a large steel blade, curved along its edge to make it easier for slicing bark or the pelt of an animal. On the other side was a large canteen for storing water. He unzipped the bag and looked inside.

There was a large pouch storing several sticks of dry kindling, just in case they get caught in a storm and there's no dry wood around. In a small pocket was a fire striker- a reasonable chunk of metal with a larger chunk of flint, strike them together and they produced sparks. He could make fire without one, but it still made life easier. There were pockets for extra dust crystals, a rolled up sleeping mat- it was better than sleeping on dirt, stone or snow. But Alden would take a patch of dead bracken leaves any day. There were even pockets to store some dried meats in case food was scarce, Alden gave a quick sniff- rabbit. There was a multi-tool, an extendable draw knife, some Rackanis moss- Which was far superior to any plaster as long as you kept it clean. Hell, there was even a tree tap, which allowed him to extract water from trees if there was no clean source nearby.

Alden quickly ran through everything, double checking he had everything.

Shelter? check

Water? Check

Fire? Check

Tools? Check

Food? Check

Medical? Basic… but Marcus hadn't put much in there as it would have weighed the pack down to much. It didn't matter Alden was sure he would be able to find everything they would need out in the field.

Satisfied, Alden zipped the bag back up. "Thanks," Alden said, "This will be really useful." Alden paused for a moment as it really sunk into his mind about jus what his father had given him.

"What is it?" Marcus asked.

"Well… it's just…" Alden sighed and swallowed before trying again. "I know, I can do everything," He said, gesturing to the bag. "But all the times I've done it properly, you, mum or grandpa was always there in case I messed up. But if something happens out there…" He said gesturing with his hand in an outwards motion. "They'll be relying on me, every word I say could either feed us… or poison us, or get us crushed by a tree, or drown in a riptide."

"Yep… it could." Marcus said, and then leaned forward slightly. "But you will be putting yourself in the same risk, I know how it feels to be in that situation." He said, referring to the time when his team was stranded on the way to Vacuo. "But you'll get used to it, it becomes part of life. It's like how you look to Maya for guidance on how the team operated, they'll look to you for guidance about how to live out there, it's a natural thing. Just remember to think twice… and if it makes you feel more comfortable at the time, make sure you do everything first, from eating to trying cross a river. If you screw up then it'll only be you who's in danger, you don't put your team in it first."

Alden nodded, feeling a bit better. "Anyway, it's just the same as you do here, just in a different space. I know you can do it, once you get in the flow of it, you'll be just as comfortable." Marcus finished.

"Yeah, thanks." Alden said smiling. His dad got up and pulled him in for a hug, patting him on the back. "You'll do great, and I expect to hear stories when you get back!" he laughed.

"I will, I'll try and call you before we leave, but just In case… no promises." He smiled sheepishly

Marcus laughed, "Only in death… or retirement… Doth a huntsman's duty end." He said smiling, "The world is your oyster my boy… break it open."

The first thing that greeted Alden's eyes when he walked out the door to his house was Mary racing Maya… up a tree. Actually… when he thought about it, it was a very interesting competition. Maya had her tail and Faunus balance to help her rocket up the tree. But Mary, like Alden, had lived around, up and sometimes in tress all her life. She knew which branches looked strong enough to grab, and which ones would snap. Maya on the other hand could climb faster, but had to test each branch as she ascended, her tail extended as far out behind her as it possibly could to even out her centre of mass.

They both reached for the branch at the top of the tree, but Maya got their first.

"I win!" She called as he hand clasped to bark.

Mary just flashed her an evil smirk and pulled the branch at the other end.

SNAP!

Maya fell a few branches and landed on a thicker part of the trunk further down, her tail flexing to hold her steady.

"Hey!" She called up.

"The branch was rotten at it's root!" Mary called down, standing proudly on her own branch, clasping the thinner bit of the upper trunk. "This is the highest branch that's stable!"

Maya rolled her eyes but stuck her tongue out up at Mary. "People from Patch are so annoying." She muttered as she jumped down form the alcove in the trunk.

"Jeez, we love you too." Alden deadpanned, but smiled and held up his hand. "Your bag." He offered. Maya thanked him and shouldered her bag. Mary jumped from the tree and rolled as she landed, her Aura flicked slightly by her boots.

They waved back at Alden and Mary's parents and headed down the road. Nite took Alden's bag with his suit in, as he had two bags and she had none.

The way back to Vale was uneventful, the storm was getting closer, but wouldn't make it to them by nightfall. The wind had picked up the, buffeting the ship even more on the way. Nite and Aegan didn't even attempt to stay on the deck this time, huddling down in the heated interior. Alden and Mary stood on the prow of the ship as the wind whistled pass their ears. Maya rekindled the fire dust crystal Alden had given her and stood with them, watching the water break against the prow of the ship.

The _Sapphire Wave_ slowly chugged into port. Navigating through the maze of other ferries and freighters, carrying goods and passengers in and out of the Kingdom. Vales port was a dark grey, concrete labyrinth of waterways and shipping containers, with the occasional logistics office dotted here and there. They passed a massive freighter, filled to the brim with white containers bearing the snowflake logo of the Schnee dust company. The ferry easily wrapped around the tight corners of the interior waterways, no longer buffeted by the waves in the sheltered harbour. Soon they came up to the _Wave's_ Mooring spot, brushing up against the huge fenders lining the side of the dock. Alden and Mary helped the crew to throw up the large mooring ropes to the harbour staff on the dock as the tied the ship down and lowed the boarding ramp to the deck.

They quickly ascended and waited on the dock's edge for Aegan and Nite to emerge from below decks. Nite appeared, supporting Aegan who's ears were dishevelled above his head and was looking rather unwell.

Mary winced, "Seasick?"

"Yep." Maya replied, "But only when it's rough… thankfully, otherwise we wouldn't get him to Patch in the first place."

Aegan happily sighed when they reached them, "Dry land is _so_ underrated."

"You'll get used to it," Alden comforted, "In the meantime, try and keep your eyes fixed on the horizon, it doesn't help for everyone but it's worth a shot."

As evening was drawing on, the city felt quieter, so they were able to move through the streets with ease, without getting bogged down by the crowds of shoppers, tourists and other academies that had come to compete in the Vytal festival. They passed Leda's shop, and even went across the plaza in front of the new library that had opened up a few months ago, just before the beginning of the academic year. It was dominated by a huge water fountain with a large statue standing proudly above its crest. Surrounding it were rows of benches. Tonnes of benches, Alden even thought they could be numbered in the hundreds. They were dotted all over the stone plaza, people could be seen, sitting and laying upon them, some working on paper or computers, others were just reading.

They got to the other side of the plaza and kept on going, lining up along the side of the road and waited for the traffic lights to let them cross to the island in the middle of the road. They turned left and followed the road down before they came up to the large mall the dominated the centre of the city.

A sudden red flash caught Alden's attention and he smiled; Ruby appeared right in front of them. "Wassup?"

Everyone apart from Alden and Mary seemed to nearly literally jump out of their skins, much to the amusement of the siblings.

"Bloody hell Ruby!" Nite said as her frightened soul was slowly allowed safe passage back into her body. Ruby just cackled at them. Yang walked up to them from their left, also laughing at their misfortune.

"Good job Ruby! That was hil-arious!" She laughed, doubling over to catch her breath. "You all looked like you were going to jump to the top of Beacon!"

"I hate you…" Aegan said ad they headed for the huge doors of the mall. Inside you could the way through to the floor above and held behind railings was a hole through the floor, with escalators to get to the three floors below them. Nite stopped and looked over the railings.

"Wow… there are so many more shops here than the one in Vacuo…" she said, her voice quiet over the loud chattering of the crowds passing them by. She looked back at them, "How we going to even find a shop for what we need? Let alone find a way to get there…"

Yang smiled and walked off with a waving motion "Come on this way… I know just the place." They ducked and weaved through the crowds as they made their way to one of the escalators and formed into single file as they stepped onto the moving plates as they descended. Yang led them around a bend in the building and then quickly turned right into a shop decorated by blue lights around the windows. Alden looked around, he saw rows upon rows of dresses of various kinds, from simple summer dresses to wedding gowns. He saw several groups of young women walking about and chatting amongst themselves, he also saw a few couples walking about looking at the items on display. He then noticed the staff behind them giving them questioning looks, also, pretty much everyone in the shop was giving them the same glances.

Yang advanced to the other side of the shop, bringing them all with her.

"Umm… why is everyone looking at us weirdly?" Nite whispered.

"Well we've walked into a dress shop, with bags and armed to the teeth. Frankly, I can't blame them." Alden commented as he dodged a stand in the middle of the isle, not allowing enough space to manoeuvre round it.

They walked into an are with plentiful seating outside the changing rooms. And stood off to the side.

"Right." Yang began, "something in here should probably be best for you taste." She said to Nite who looked around looking very lost.

"Okay?" She said, more as a question.

"Alden, Aegan, it would probably be best if you head off and find something to do for an hour and then come back."

"What?" Alden turned to look at her.

"Shoo," She said waving her hands at him.

"You brought us all the way in here, just to tell us to go away?"

Yang looked to the side as she scratched the back of her neck. "Yeeeaagh."

"Your hopeless." Alden said smiling.

"I'm hopeless? You two would just look at anything Nite comes out in and say, "You look great," preferably in that order." Yang said placing her hands on her hips.

"Would we be wrong?" Alden challenged.

Maya sniggered and shook her head. "Guys…" she muttered.

"What?" Aegan said laughing, "We compliment you and then you get offended at us!"

"Because you're not being critical!" Ruby piped up.

"So what do you want us to say? That you're ugly?" Alden said waving his arms about but smiling.

"That's just rude." Yang said.

"I don't get it!" Alden laughed, "As long as it's nothing outrageously stupid, you girls look great in anything, that's being critically nice, and honest!"

"Oh so you're always checking us out then?" Maya sniggered, giving him a sideways smile.

"I…" Alden's arm collapsed to his side before he turned to her and pointed his finger. "That's a trap and you know it!" Maya smiled sweetly.

"What?"

Alden huffed and shook his head.

"You're evil…"

Maya laughed, "Go on, we shouldn't take long."

The pair waved and turned to head towards the exit.

Yang looked at Maya, "Pointed much?" She said grinning.

Maya looked at her confused "What?"

Yang smiled and shook her head "Nothing." She said, "Come on let's get started." And gestured for the others to pass her and head down one of the isles of clothes. As Maya past her a little way she made certain she couldn't hear her but still couldn't resist muttering "Innocent." Beneath her breath. She looked up to see Mary looking at her, sharing a knowing look in her eyes.

"What's the extra bag for?" Aegan asked as they left the shop and out into the crowds streaming by.

"My dad packed it for me, for our mission… talking of which." Alden said as he led Aegan across the floor and into a large camping store.

"Maranis is in one of most remote places in Vale." Alden explained as he walked through the door. "They may not have any places to stay, and if our…. _Theory_ proves to be correct… well we may not _want_ to be around the village."

He saw Aegan looking round at the various pots, tools and tents aligning the walls and shelves.

"But if we're going with a huntsman or huntress, then won't they bring all the necessary stuff?"

"If they're from Patch or Vacuo then we won't have a problem." Alden explained, "But if they're not, we'll have the basics, we won't have to worry about lugging tents back with us. But it won't help to get some of the advanced stuff, even if we don't use it, it may come in handy later." Aegan nodded and they headed deeper into the shop.

"So what do we need?" Aegan asked.

"I don't think we need much." Alden replied, "I'm happy slugging the more complicated stuff myself, It's just I want everyone to be more or less self-sufficient- at least self sufficient in pairs in case we get separated."

"self sufficient in pairs?" Aegan jokingly asked against Alden's wording.

"Wha- oh, you know what I mean. But seriously. first rule of bush craft: don't go it alone. When we're out there we only split up to a minimum size of two. No one goes on their own. _Ever._"

Aegan nodded "fair enough."

Alden led them to some benches and put his bag down on one. He quickly unzipped it and looked inside. Aegan watched him as he examined the contents of his bag.

"Ok, fire is a good place to start." Alden said as he turned and looked behind him. "Ah here we go." He came back, giving Aegan a small package.

"What's this?" Aegan asked, taking the plastic form Alden.

"It's a strike stone," Alden said happily in his element. "You essentially smack the two together and it creates sparks. You take those sparks, put them in something soft and flammable and bam: fire"

"Ummm. Matches?" Aegan asked.

"True, true, but matches are annoying, prone to snapping, some won't start if they're wet and noisy, plus you only have a limited amount of uses. Strike stones can last longer than our lifetimes." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small cloth pouch which gently rattled as he shook it, "These were my great grandads, they still do me good today." He put them in back in his bag. "Trust me, you'll always keep them on you after this."

Alden quickly gathered two more sets of strike stones and then proceeded to lead Aegan to where the canteens were.

"These are pretty obvious." He said, putting a few extra in the carrier bag he was holding.

"Apart from that, everything we should need are stored back at Beacon." Alden said walking towards the till and paying for his collected items. "We should be provided with tents and sleeping bags, so… yep, I 'd say that covers everything."

"Cool," Aegan said. "sooo… now what?"

"We kill time until the ladies call us." Alden replied as they headed for the exit of the shop. "Any ideas?"  
Aegan was just about to reply when he heard his stomach growl. Alden looked at him and one of his eyebrows raised. "Yep, that's a great idea. Come on I know just the place."

Alden received a call from Yang about half an hour later, so Alden and Aegan headed back for the entrance of mall to spot the rest of their friends gathered around near the door.

"So, we got everything we need?" Aegan asked.

"Yep, finally." Nite said.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Yang reprimanded. Suddenly the faint rumble of thunder echoed across the sky.

"Storms coming." Mary said. "I better run; I want to get across the channel before it hits."

"Okay, see you in a few days when we get back." Alden said and hugged his sister.

"Be careful out there okay?" Mary said quietly with a worried look in her eyes. "Just… come home safe."

"What me? What have I ever…" Alden trailed off as Mary glared at him.

"Promise me." She said looking sternly at him. Alden gave her a small smile.

"I promise."

"Good" she said smiling. Mary then proceeded to hug everyone else goodbye and jogged down the street back towards the port.

They all walked at a brisk pace as it started to drizzle. They wanted to get to the airport before it got heavy. Alden ducked hi head to avoid getting water in his eyes as he ascended the ramp into the airship and the doors hissed shut behind him. They quickly huddled around one of the heating vents and sighed as they warmed up and dried off.

After a few seconds Yang joined Alden at the window looking over the city.

"So" She began, "Where are you trying to get for your mission?"

"Maranis." Alden replied, "it's a small village on Vytal. We think it's got something to do with the dust robberies, and it involves a kidnapped girl. You know, the usual…"

Yang grinned. "We're heading to the south east quadrant; we're looking for a White Fang base, trying to find out what they're planning as we've had a few run ins with them recently."

Alden noticed Maya's head perk up and looked at him when she heard "White fang" coming from Yang. He showed her a subtle thumbs up: her brothers were safe.

As the ramp deployed and the doors opened the dark evening sky was lit up as a bolt of lightning streaked down from the heavens in a blinding flash. In response they picked up their pace and hurried inside, shaking themselves off when they reached the dry. The lobby of the dorm building was empty as most teams had found somewhere dry to hide out the storm, probably in their rooms or the library. They made their way up the stairs until they reached the top of the building and Maya swiped her scroll across the door, the lock beeped and flashed green as it allowed them entry.

"Put your stuff away quickly then meet me out here, I want to show you something." Yang told them and she and Ruby hurried inside their room, leaving them a glimpse of the precariously stacked beds in the corner of the room. They had all been in there many times over the course of the year and it never seemed to get cleaner.

They hurried inside their own room and quickly went about discarding their soggy jackets and jumpers. Alden opened the door to his and Aegan's wardrobe and grabbed a dark grey sweater and quickly threw it over his head and slipped it on. He noticed he could see his breath on the air and quickly went over to the window and pulled it shut and then turned on the giant radiator on the wall.

He opened his bag and inspected the carrying bag inside, it wasn't wet so it shouldn't have gotten through to the suit beneath. He hung the bag up in his wardrobe and then sat on his bed to wait for everyone else.

Soon everyone was out of their et clothes and into more comfortable attire. With all the vital parts for their evening tomorrow inspected and deemed to be okay they were carefully stowed away in their wardrobes and they gathered in the hallway outside their room. Moments later the door to the left of left of theirs opened and Yang and Ruby emerged cuddled up in thick jumpers and jeans.

"So, what did you want to show us?" Alden asked Yang as they smiled in greeting.

"You're gonna love this!" She said excitedly walking down the hallway and gestured for them to follow, "I wanna' show you what we've done with the place." She bounced on her heels, referring to the ballroom. They followed her down the stairs as she was nearly skipping with excitement. They bolted from the door and ran too get inside. Ruby disappeared in a blur and the doow swung open as she rocketed through. She then turned and closed the door with an evil grin and they heard the door lock.

"Oh you cheeky little sh… Yang began to curse as they were trapped in the rain. Alden sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the familiar warmth of his semblance flash. He grabbed Ruby by her hood and lifted her squirming off the ground.

"Put. Me. Down!" She squeaked as Alden pressed the lock on the door and it swung open, allowing everyone to rush inside.

Alden dropped her and she brushed her arms off whilst glaring at Alden. "I hate you. You're no fun" She sulked. Alden laughed and flicked her hair as he walked past. Yang led them through the darkened hallways and into the amphitheatre. With no one else in it the room echoed to their footsteps as they crossed to the other side. They went through another hallway and crossed through one of the locker rooms. Finally, they came to a set of double doors and Yang pushed them open tp reveal the ballroom.

Alden remembered this room from his first night at Beacon, they all did. It was dark and empty with only the only company to the stonework was being surrounded by so many of their peers. Now though…

"Wow…" Nite commented as she walked into the expansive hall.

Wow was the appropriate reaction. Even as the rain poured down, the hall was bathed in warm glow form hundreds of large candles that hung from the ceiling in chandeliers, the walls and standing on the tables. On the tables were huge rolls of cloth lining form one end to another, at each spot were large doilies. Alden knew Yang must have had to compromise on something because she _hated_ doilies, she had once given Alden an hour-long rant about the useless cloths. Above them where rows upon rows of bunting, brandished by large multi-coloured cloth wraps at every pillar in the room. Along the Balcony level several ribbons were wrapped in and out the railings and banisters. On the far end of the hall was a huge window- revealing the swirling mass of clouds beyond, the room was lit up suddenly as another streak of lighting raced from the skies.

"You've done an amazing job." Maya said walking further into the room and spinning around to look at everything.

"Thank you." A voice said above them. They looked up to see Weiss smiling down on them, her ponytail hanging down over the railing.

"Oh, hi Weiss, didn't see you there." Yang called up.

"Where's Blake?" Ruby asked, looking around to look for the kas member of their team.

"She left a while ago." Weiss replied, "Said she needed to get something and just took off. I didn't get a chance to ask her where she was going."

"Well, hopefully that means she's coming." Yang said looking very proud of herself.

"That's a point… how did you try and convince her to come after the whole laser pointer thing?" Alden asked.

"Oh, we talked it out." Yang said.

"You talked it out?"

"Yep."

"No threatening?"

"No Alden I did not try and force her to come. If she does, it's of her own will."

Alden chuckled but continued to walk around admiring the large hall.

It was getting late and soon they decided to retire back to their rooms. The hallways echoed to their happy chatting as they talked about what they expected their missions to be like who they might be shadowing.

"Yeah," Yang laughed, "Imagine what a team would feel like if they had to shadow professor Oobleck! I would feel so sorry for them!" Alden winced and laughed at the thought.

They soon reached their rooms and bid Yang, Ruby and Weiss goodnight before letting themselves into their own room. They stooped in the middle and looked around.

"We won't be seeing this place for a while." Maya said.

"Nope," Aegan replied, "But it'll be worth it."

"I can't wait," Nite added.

"It's just… as much as I'm looking forward to it, a girl's life is probably at stake here. If we screw up…" Maya quietly mumbled.

"Then we'll make sure we don't screw up. We'll get her out of there and get her back to her dad. Not many other first years can get on rescue op. We tend to do these things all out don't we?" Alden said grinning.

"That. We do." Maya added. "Alright everyone, to bed, we've got a long day ahead of us."

As Alden pulled his blanket over him and his eyes adjusted to the dark, he hoped he wouldn't get any dreams or nightmares tonight. He just wanted to sleep for a very, very long time. But he knew he wouldn't get that luxury; he could already feel the weird presence building in the back of his mind. He just hoped it'd be something good.

**Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. Real life stuff had to come first.**

**Now that nonsense is out the way, im sorry this chapter didn't turn out to be the dance, but I felt it was needed to flesh out a few more things. But the next chapter definitely will be, it's the next day so I can't get distracted! Other than that, my favourite parts of this volume are all racing towards us, both the ball, MANA's mission and… what comes after. I'm really hoping the next chapter comes out faster as I'm hoping to have a little more time to write, but that normally backfires in my face when I say that so no definite promises, but it should. **

**Hope you're all well and staying sane.**


	23. Vol 2 Ch 10: May I Have This Dance?

Vol 2 Ch 10: May I have this dance?

Azerra bolted upright, her mind reeling. It couldn't be true… could it? This was _far_ to good to be true. Her head couldn't slow down, the _implications_ of what this meant! It worked! She rushed to get dressed and raced out the door, minding her head on the low stone ceiling as she rapidly ascended the steps that led to the surface.

The very concept of how time worked… Or at least _didn't _work was enough to shake the very idea of temporal science to its core! She knew not to even begin to try and unravel that question, human minds are not equipped to try and grasp the idea of time in any other way than its nice linear path but this…

Also, this must be the first-time successful contact had been made in such a fashion, otherwise she must have had access to one of the others memories by now… Oh this was too good! She needed to find Ryan, he's going to be _insufferable_ when he finds out he was right, but this is too good to pass up!

She sprinted through the halls of Shade academy, scanning every face she glided past as she went, she needed to find them as soon as possible. She shot into the dining hall shoving the large doors as she went. As she was sprinting down the rows of tables, she caught a glimpse of Harry waving her over and she skidded to a stop behind them as they all turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Well someone got out of the right side of bed this morning," Ryan said smiling at her, "What's made you so happy."

Azerra could only stop and beam at her teammates "So… What's your favourite ice cream flavour?"

Alden's eyes snapped open. Did that just? His mind raced back through his memories, trying to see if his dreams had simply made it up, but he could clearly recall the dream, clear yet slightly fuzzy, more like a memory than a dream. It was real…

Alden had to resist the urge to jump and scream in his relation, but that would wake his team…

He suddenly noticed the curtains were wide open and sunlight beamed through the window. All the rest of the beds in the room was vacant yet well kept. There was also a small note left on his desk.

_Alden._

_Just so you know we went to have breakfast and help out with the final preparations with the ball this evening- Don't groan at that it'll be fun! Stop rolling your eyes! As you've seemed to be getting good information during the nights, I'd thought it best not to wake you, sorry of it was a bad one._

_Depending on when you read this, we'll most likely be in the canteen, the ball room or outside by the fountain come find us!_

_Maya_

Alden smiled at the note, she was getting far too good at predicting his reactions. He crumpled the paper and through it in the bin and hurried to get dressed. He would quickly get a bite to eat and go in search for the others, boy did he have news for them!

He rushed into the bathroom and jumped into the shower whilst turning it on. He immediately sidestepped the rush of scalding water, making sure to turn the temperature down, Aegan liked it _way_ to hot for his taste. He let his mind wonder as he stood back under the stream. He felt anxious, he knew the rest of team felt the same way. For a few days they had known about a kidnapped girl being held hostage but for those same days they'd been powerless to do anything about it, they have to wait for their mission to get anywhere near where they thought she was being held. But it still didn't feel right, going shopping and to the ball when the poor girl must be scared out of her wits.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He was right before; they couldn't do anything about it now. But they would be able to tomorrow, it gave him a small modicum of hope.

The cafeteria was much more lively than usual. Everyone was talking about the dance this evening. Some where obviously excited, other where… obviously not. He was waiting in line to grab something when he heard his name being called from behind him. Alden turned to see the most recent members to his alarmingly rapidly growing list of friends.

"Hey Alden" Sun said as he and Neptune joined him at the back of the line. "Do you know where the ladies and Aegan went? We saw them talking this morning but then disappeared before we knew what they were doing."

"I'm fairly certain they went to the ballroom to do some last checks. I'm going in search for them anyway after this." He said, nodding towards the food on display.

"Well in that case we'll wait for you if you want the company?" Neptune asked.

"Sure." Alden said and turned to the items on display. He grabbed a sandwich and an apple, things he normally wouldn't accept as a breakfast, but this was important, and he needed something portable. They walked off past the tables and headed for the large doors.

"So, what's MANA trying to get for their mission?" Sun asked him as they approached the door.

"We're thinking village defence." Alden said as he opened the door, "Just something out of the city as neither Nite nor Maya have really left it before. How about you?"

"We're planning on getting in with the junior detectives" Neptune said, "For the exact opposite reason for you, we want to see the city when nothing is… exploding, or on fire, or being shot through, or just a pile of rubble, or slag, or…"

"Yeah, he gets it Neptune," Sun interrupted. Alden just laughed.

"He has a point though, hang around team RWBY for long enough and something is bound to explode… even if it's Ruby's enthusiasm." Sun and Neptune laughed at his joke.

"Though MANA's had it's fair share of weirdness hasn't it?" Neptune asked.

"Yep," Alden replied, "Which is why I wouldn't count on everything being normal even without us. Junior detectives you say? You'll probably end up with a massive conspiracy or a Grimm invasion of the kingdom."

"Geez, thanks for filling us with confidence." Neptune sarcastically replied.

They opened the doors to the ballroom to be met by chaos. Several teams who had opted to help out were bustling about calling to one another with lists of supplies and what to put where. They looked up to see Weiss standing on the balcony wielding a megaphone, shouting orders to the volunteers.

To his right, working at one of the tables he could see his team, and next to them was the rest of the team RWBY, hell even _Blake_ had turned up today.

"Is that…?" Sun began to ask.

"Yep," Alden replied.

"How is that possible? There's no _way_ she suddenly changed her mind like this."

"Yang." Alden said.

"What?"

"Yang persuaded her."

"I know she was going to _try._ I just didn't think she'd be able to do it."

Alden laughed and shook his head and walked towards them. Maya was the first to see him and she smiled and waved him over. As he approached, he saw they were working on some incredibly fiddly looking tags design to lock the tablecloth sections together.

"Morning." Aegan said as he approached. "Care to join the torture room?"

"Aegan I can hear you!" Weiss' voice boomed over the noise of the other teams from above them.

"You're just proving my point!" He called back.

"I need to talk to you guys for a second." Alden said once Sun and Neptune had distracted the rest of their friends.

"What is it?" Maya asked.

Alden smiled; he wouldn't be able to hold it back anyway. "Azerra's favourite is Chocolate, and Ryan and the rest of team AREH prefers vanilla."

Aegan blinked at him, "What?"

Maya's mouth opened in shock, "No…"

Alden nodded and his smile got wider "Yep, it works!"

Nite looked confused, "I'm feeling Aegan and I are missing out on something, what's going on?"

Alden looked at her, "You know a few nights ago, when we were with Furla she talked about people who had come before us, like Azerra, the one I keep getting dreams of?" Nite nodded slowly. "We can talk through those, she knows us, she's seen what happened in forever fall and now we've learnt how to leave messages across them, we can _talk_ to them."

"Then… this changes everything!" She said as her face exploded into a smile, "If they've already gone through this then we can learn all about this stuff, _before _it happens!"

"Yes, in the terminology of the universe, this does technically count as cheating." Alden replied. "But either way it gives a huge advantage, I for one have many questions I need to ask her."

Alden vigorously rubbed his hair with a towel as he got out of the shower for the second time that day. He quickly got dressed and walked back into their room, currently empty as Nite and Aegan had gone down to get something to eat before the ball tonight and he could hear the shower running in the girl's bathroom.

He looked out the window down at the courtyard below at the large crowds of students milling about, some were running about doing final checks and getting ready, others were already dressed for the occasion for when they were allowed into the ballroom.

Three knocks sounded on their door, eyebrows lowering in confusion he walked over to reveal Yang, out of her usual leather jacket and in a pearl white dress. Looking very annoyed and her hair had exploded on her head, in all directions making her look like a very agitated porcupine. He failed to hold in his snigger and his lips curled up at the sight

"Don't. Even. Start." Yang warned him with a hairbrush.

"I'm not." He replied smiling. "Come in, let's get you sorted."

With a huff Yang reluctantly followed him into the room and sat on the edge of his bed. Alden walked up to her and took the hairbrush out of her hands and got on his knees behind her on the bed. He grabbed the first lock of her hair and very carefully brushed it down, paying attention not to tug on it too much.

"So how did you manage this?" He asked as he started to get the back of her hair into a somewhat reasonable fashion.

"I might have gone a bit over the top with the shampoo." She grumbled.

"A bit?" Alden snarked.

"Hey- OW!" She yelped as she turned to glare at him but caused the brush to tug on her hair.

"Well, don't move your head then, I'm working on it."

"I hate you…"

"Love you too Yang, now turn your head to the right a bit." She followed his instruction and Alden carried on working in silence.

Soon the quiet was shattered by a mocking gasp to their right. "I don't believe my eyes!" Maya cried as she emerged from the bathroom, "Someone touching Yang's hair _not_ being beaten to a pulp? What crazy world have I woken up into?"

Yang smiled but flipped Maya a rude finger gesture. Maya just laughed and opened the door to her wardrobe and pulled out the bag that contained her dress as Alden worked on the other side of Yang's head.

The door opened to reveal Nite and Aegan enter the room, they stopped as they entered.

"Am I imagining this?" Aegan asked.

"I don't think so…" Nite replied staring in awe at Yang, who huffed and shrugged.

"Why is everyone making a big deal out of this?" She sighed.

"Because among the list of the last people and creatures to touch your hair, I'm the only one that's still alive or hasn't visited the hospital." Alden replied and began trying to tame her fringe.

"You're going to visit it in a minute." She warned staring up at him through the knotted ends of her fringe. Alden simply _tsked_.

"Then who would be able to sort this out for you? I'm trying to be nice here."

"I'm going to wait until your done-

"Now that's just rude." Alden interrupted.

Yang groaned but was met with light hearted laughter.

"There we go. I think that's good." Alden said as he opened the back part of Yang's hairbrush, revealing a mirror and showed it to her. Yang examined his work before smiling and nodding.

"That's great, thanks Alden."

"Anytime, now go on, you need to get down there and open it up." Yang happily hummed.

"That I do, oh it's gonna be so much fun! You guys better get down there quick, I won't tolerate unpunctuality!"

"Damn that was a big word for you!" Alden laughed and ducked under her flying hairbrush.

"Alden. Cirq! I swear if you-

"The ballroom needs opening." Alden interrupted smiling. He picked up her hairbrush and handed it back to her, "I won't even try and delay if you don't try and hit me again."

Her eyebrows lowered at him. "Fine, you better."

"I will, pinky promise."

"You are such a child." Yang called as she walked off.

"Bye!" They all called down the hallway. As Yang turned and headed down the stairs Alden suddenly noticed that all his teams eyes were on him.

"What?" he asked.

"How are you still alive!?" Aegan said his mouth dropping to the floor. "No one can do that and live unharmed to tell the tale."

Alden laughed as he walked to his wardrobe to pull out his suit. "You're right, I'm the only one that can, she won't let her _dad_ near it.

Maya watched as his smile dropped and a flicker of sadness passed over his eyes. "It's a… long story." He dismissed and turned to opened he bag and laid the contents carefully on his bed.

Alden and Aegan walked into the ballroom a few minutes later to give the girls the room to get changed. It was packed full of people, some walking about, but most stayed in medium to large groups; filling the room full of unintelligible gibberish as all their voices mixed into one constant sound. Yang smiled and waved from her position at a podium and waved them over.

"I'm actually surprised you turned up on time." Yang smiled.

"I made you a promise, didn't I?" Alden said, almost cowering against the podium Yang was standing behind, nervously looking at all the people around him, talking and laughing and _gods_ he did not know what he was supposed to be doing.

"Hey Aegan!" Someone called from a nearby crowd, Alden recognised them as Sam, one of Aegan's old friends back from Pharos academy, "Come here a sec!"

Aegan looked at him, "I'll be back in a minute" and walked off to talk with the group. Alden was becoming more grateful by the second that ang was still there. As he turned he saw her smirking at him.

"What?"

"You look so lost!" She laughed. Alden shook his head but smiled.

"It's just a bit… overwhelming."

Yang smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I get it. I was making fun of your face, not you."

The doors clicked over open again to reveal Ruby slowly waddled her way into the room.

Yang started jumping up and down. "Ooooh! You look Beautiful!"

"Urghhh hurgghh." Ruby groaned as she took a few wobbly steps forward. "Can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these!?" She took a step forward and had to spread her arms out to keep her balance. Yang just covered her mouth with her hand and giggled softly as Ruby approached them. Alden shook his head but smiled as Ruby took another step and started to lose her balance and fall. Alden quickly reached out and held her shoulder and gently pushed her back on her feet. He looked over his shoulder.

"Good sistership Yang." He said shaking his head. Yang replied by simply bursting out into laughter.

"Y-y-y you look like a drunk Chicke- ha ha ah!" Yang tried to say but couldn't hold her laughter back.

"This isn't funny!" Ruby scowled.

"Well, I want to know why you didn't dump the high heals and come in something… flatter?" Alden asked.

"Because I told her it would go well with her dress. And I'm right!"

"At the expense of her walking, you knew this would happen."

"Nooooooooo, of couuuuurrse I didn't!" She scratched the back of her neck, "Well, maybe a little, but I wasn't really focusing on that part."

"Oh come on Yang look at her!" Alden said as he gestured to Ruby who tried to walk again but stumbled.

"Yeah this had become more of a problem than I thought it would be…"

"Go help her. I'll try and cover your list for you."

"Fiiiine." Yang said and stepped away from her podium.

Alden walked up and examined the list, it was simple enough, a tick if someone turns up, a tick if they leave. But…

"Hey Yang?" Alden called.

"What?" She replied as she held Ruby up so she could get used to walking.

"Why do you need one these things anyway? It's not like we're incapable of walking about our own academy."

"I don't know, but Professor Goodwitch told me we have to have one so…" She shrugged again. They heard the door click open and again, and Yang produced a low wolf-whistle. "Damn, I know how to pick em'"

Alden looked up to see Nite and Maya walk into the ballroom. Nite had let her hair down, out of its usual braid and it hung around her upper back. She was wearing a dark green dress which went to just below her knees and slit open by her elbows, revealing all her upper forearm. Alden turned to Yang, "See I told you, she looks fine, why did you make such a fuss?" Yang groaned and facepalmed. Alden laughed and turned back to the door.

Maya had tied her hair back into a bun on the back of her hair with a braided strand that ran up one side which flickered out at the end. As she walked past one of the lights by the door it shined to the point where one could easily mistake her head to be on fire. She was wearing a light blue sleeveless dress that cut off at her knees. She was wearing a matching colour pair of soft soled flats so that she couldn't be heard over the noise of people talking and… and he was staring… he really needed to stop.

He forced his eyes back down and quickly crossed their names off the list. He noticed Aegan walking back over and greeting Nite, but they were out of earshot.

"You look… Highly uncomfortable." Maya noted from in front of him. Alden smile but shrugged.

"Meh, you know me and these types of events. I promise to try to not embarrass you though… but I can't make any promises."

Maya smiled and laughed, "If it helps, ignore everyone else, you're just having a night out with friends, makes it feel a lot less… claustrophobic." Alden nodded.

"Yeah, Ok. I can do that." He said and Yang released him from the podium and Maya gestured to the side of the room. As they walked Alden noted something different about Maya. "Why have you hidden your tail?"

"What?" Maya asked, looking away slightly.

"You've tucked your tail in… why?"

"I'm not "Hiding it" I'm just…"

"Why have you suddenly become self-conscious about it?" Alden interrupted.

"I haven't!" She said sternly but slightly blushed. Alden stood with his arms crossed and blinked, clearly not convinced. She sighed and shook her head, then looked away. "As you know, I normally go to these kinds of events with my family. Most of them… don't… _appreciate_ who I am exactly. It's just become easier to not let anyone see it." She said looking down nervously and sat on one of the chairs, crossing one leg over the other. Alden sighed and sat down next to her.

"Are we at one of those events now?"

"No…"

"Are with your friends?"

"Yes…"

"Have they ever judged you for having an _incredibly _strong tail that has made me realise I'm strangely ticklish to fur?" Maya gave out a small laugh and cracked a smile.

"No."

"So, there's no reason to hide. Come on. Tail out. Now." Alden said as he flicked her on the shoulder.

"Fine…" She sighed and Alden saw her dress move about at the bottom before her tail slipped out of a small hidden slit at the back of her dress. Her tail wrapped protectively around her back. "Why do you care anyway?"

Alden looked at her slightly hurt. "Maya, you're one of my best friends. That means I like you." He said and absentmindedly curled a finger through the fur of her tail, gently unfurling a small knot that had formed as she pushed it through the slit of the dress. "All of you… and everything that makes you that." He held her gaze but tried not to portray the little spark of joy he felt at the realisation that she didn't flinch away this time.

Maya sighed and looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, "It just became a habit after I was a kid around the wealthier people at those events, they always looked down on me, so it became easier to just disappear." She clenched her eyes together, she looked _hurt._ Alden felt one of his fists clench at the thought of who or what could make her so self-conscious, she was _never_ like this.

"Hey, hey." Alden said turning to face her. "I'm not blaming you. Humans are horrible people, we're nasty, bullies and struggle to accept anything different to _our_ way… You're not wrong. But… some of us try not to be that so please… try, trust us more than your fear of what could be OK?" He placed a tentative hand over hers to which she flipped it over and gently squeezed.

Maya slowly looked back to him and nodded. "Ok," and her tail fell to rest in a small heap on the seat. Alden smiled.

"Thank you." He said before looking back out into the room. Making up his mind he stood, turned round and offered his hand down to her. "Come on, wanna' dance?" Maya looked up at him confused.

"I thought you didn't know how to?" Alden smiled and shrugged.

"I don't, but we've been so good at improvising lately… how hard can it be?" Maya smiled and sighed through her nose and took his hand allowing herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Alright, come on, I'll teach you." She said and led him toward the dance floor.

"You do not know how relived I am to hear you say that, I was not trusting my improvisation ability _at all._" Alden said huffing. Maya laughed.

"It's not that bad." She said and held him to a stop. Alden looked nervously to the side where Yang and Ruby were leaning up against, the podium and watching them, obviously entertained at the prospect. "Ignore them." Maya instructed, "just focus on me." She reached out and grabbed his left hand and held it up and she put her other hand on his shoulder. "Right, now put your other hand on my waist." She told him.

Suddenly incredibly unsure of what he was doing he gingerly followed her instructions. She smiled but rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not made of glass Alden." Alden blushed and strengthened his grip.

"Right, sorry."

"Stop apologising, you haven't done this before." She scolded and gently tugged him to the left. "We'll just do the simple stuff for now, until you get an idea for the rhythm." Alden nodded and let himself get pulled about before picking up on the timing and his feet began moving with more purpose, keeping step with her. Maya smiled at him. "See you're getting the hang of it!" They did a few more twists and turns before Maya's tail wrapped out around him and prodded him at the bottom of his back. "Try and keeps some tension here, it makes it easier to rebalance when we change direction." Alden tried and sure enough he felt like he was no longer fighting to keep upright in the spins.

"Ok, yeah, that's better." He said. He then proceeded to forget to move his other foot and tripped. He gasped slightly as he had to quick step to stay on his feet. "I'm fine." He said quickly He looked down to see Maya trying and failing to hold her smile to herself.

"Please, restrain your worry to my health, it makes me nervous." He said sarcastically rolling his eyes. This time Maya did laugh and jokingly headbutted his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but the look on your face! You were like: ahhhhhh! Noooo! Whyyyyy? Oh, I'm fine! Rejoice!" She mocked. Alden huffed but smiled, happy to see his friend acting happier again after the rocky start to the evening. He let go of her and deliberately moved his foot in between hers, loving the look of shock on her face as she tumbled over. On the way down he reached out and clasped his hand in hers and gently pulled her back on her feet whilst spinning her around before returning to their original position and he behaved like he hadn't done anything.

Maya just stared at him but soon a smile crept over her face as one of her eyebrows raised. "Those were some smooth moves." She complimented. "Are you _sure_ you're not a dancer?"

"I have a great teacher." He replied. She raised her eyebrows again.

"I don't think it's me." She said as she stepped back causing his arm to rise and she spun before drifting off to the side and twirling behind his back before meeting him back in the middle. "You're a natural!"

He wasn't really sure if he was. It definitely was easier because it was her. Strangely he was relying on battle instincts. He could tell by the direction of her legs and feet which way she was going, and by the direction of her torso and what her tail was doing he could tell which way she would turn. But instead of the fleeced hood fluttering in the wind and a blazing sword or glaive in her hand, she was in a dress. Alden admitted that even though he certainly didn't mind the change it was strange seeing her like this. Strange _being _like this. Because normally he would have stayed well away from an event like this, he would have hated every second of it. But as they stood in between each other's legs and had to twist out to the side to avoid tripping up on each other before spinning round and going back the way they came. Alden realised he was enjoying himself, even with the overconfident glint in Maya's eyes.

"Oh, when I tell your family you're secretly a great dancer…" Maya told him as they drew closer, grinning from ear to ear. In response Alden tipped her over again, causing her to glide round but he held her steady and looked down at her.

"Don't. You. Dare." He said as she kicked her self-back up towards him, clinging close to his shoulder.

"What? Afraid they may have something to say?" She smirked close to his ear. Alden had to fight the blush rising in his cheeks at the thought.

"No. I'm afraid they wouldn't _stop_ having something to say." He replied lifting his hand up for her to twirl underneath as she skidded out before pushing back in.

"But. To me… that doesn't sound too bad." She grinned and pulled, causing them to sidestep out of the way of a dancing pair nearby.

"You are, quite literally… the _worst _person I have ever met." Alden grumbled pulling her back out the way of another pair. She laughed at his comment and stepped to the side and linked her arm with his, stepping forward to turn them to the side.

"You wound me!" She said grinning, spinning round and linking her other arm, turning them the other way. "Do you honestly think I would do that?" She added, winking. They unlinked their arms and resumed their original position.

"Knowing you? Absolutely." Alden retorted as they curved round.

"Nah, I wouldn't." Maya said but then started grinning impishly "I'm just going to hold it for later." Alden tilted his head back and groaned. Maya laughed and Alden noted the way her eyes flashed in the light overhead.

"You scared of me Alden?" She asked, stepping one foot between his to get closer to his face in a challenge. He stepped to the side and pulled her arm round so her back was against his chest and her leaned his head down near her shoulder.

"Nah… Mary is scarier if you make her lose her bookmark." He said. His head, however, was occupied with the memory back on Patch. When the Grimm had her. With her teeth bared and hands clawed and her tail not portraying any of her emotion. The idea of having to fight Maya for real was far, _far_ scarier… But a little lie wouldn't hurt.

Maya shivered as his breath ghosted over her shoulder and the tip of her tail flickered. She knew he didn't do that deliberately; the boy was far too oblivious for that. She pushed off him and spun around so they were facing each other and brought their conjoined hands up so they were trapped between their shoulders, their closeness providing some privacy.

"I wanted to ask you something." She said as their dance slowed down with the music.

"Shoot." He answered.

"How come Yang lets you touch her hair?" She asked quietly as they drifted around. She felt his chest expand and rapidly retract as he sighed.

"When we were young, there were only two people who could properly brush her hair without tugging on it." Alden said and Maya noticed his eyes darkening with a sad hollowness. "Me and her stepmum. When she died… Ruby and her dad tried to help but she said it always reminded her of her mum, I was the only one who did it before so I am the only one she accepts." He shook his head and looked back at her, "Sorry… Summer was like a second mum to me… it hurts to think of her."

"I'm sorry I asked." Maya said, slightly hanging her head.

"No, it's fine." He said and sighed, "I wish you could have met her. She would have loved you, and the others."

"Yeah?" She asked quietly as they twisted out the way again of another pair. He nodded and smiled.

"She would come back from a mission and grab Mary and me on her way home, the moment she got home she would say hi to everyone and then start to make the _best_ cookies you could ever taste. Yang and I still get caught up for hours talking about her." He said with a small smile on his face.

They danced on quietly for a minute before Maya looked back up. "So… how close are you and Yang?" She asked, immediately regretting the question. Alden's eyes glanced down.

"What do you mean?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Do you… you know…?" She said as she and bit her tongue to stop embarrassing herself any more.

"Oh… _oh…_" Alden said as he caught on. He shook his head. "No, not anymore." Maya raised an eyebrow in a question. Alden jokingly huffed. "I did like her… for a long time, up to about a year or two ago."

"What happened?" She asked, gently pulling them back as they neared the edge of the dance floor.

"I started to notice it at a end of year party back at signal, we went together but I started noticing that was the time she started… you know… really looking at people. But… it wasn't at me. Or any other guy for that matter." Maya's eyebrows shot up.

"She's a…" She didn't finish her sentence, but Alden cottoned on and nodded.

"Yeah, she is… Those please don't tell anyone else that, or I will be stabbed to death… and I would probably deserve it to."

"Not a soul." She reassured as they slowed as the music came to an end. They disentangled from each other and stood apart. Maya had to ignore the stupid tingling feeling in her hand.

As they left the dance floor and headed for the stairs up to the balcony level Alden's head was in turmoil, either dancing took more out of him than he thought, which considering his desired occupation was unlikely… or his heart running about on overdrive inside his chest meant he enjoyed that a bit too much. They climbed up the stairs and passed one of the many drinks stands surrounding the room. Maya grabbed one of the cups and Alden followed suit, not really paying attention to what he was doing. They took a seat at one of the tables lining the edge and looked down at the people below.

Alden took a sip of his drink and immediately recoiled at the sour kick it had. "eeeaaahh." He said rubbing his tongue, "That's nasty." He looked up to see Maya snickering at him. He crossed his arms and sent an agitated glance her way. She answered by sticking her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and returned looking down through the railing.

He looked up again when he noticed Maya was scratching the back of her head. Growling in irritation she pulled at the large band that was holding her hair up and swished her head side to side like a wet dog as her hair tumbled down her back. Alden came to the weird realisation he had never seen her with her hair down before. It dropped down to roughly her shoulder blades, most over the back of her shoulders but a sizeable amount dropped down the front too. The braid that went along the side of her bun had curled around her ear and her fringe that was normally tied up had dropped so it partially covered one of her eyes.

Alden blinked and forced his eyes away again, mentally slapping himself around the face. He was drawn out again when he heard laughter, lots of it.

"What is going on down there?" Maya asked standing to look over the railing.

"I don't know- _oh._" Alden said joining her looking over. He wasn't quite sure if his eyes were working properly. Jaune was talking to Pyrrha _in a dress._

"Umm… _what?_" Maya said bringing her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Okay there was definitely a joke we've missed out on." Alden said staring disbelievingly as all of team JNPR suddenly dominated the dancefloor as the music picked up. The pair of them just stood in wonderment.

"I didn't even know Ren could dance like that…" Maya said, "just… _what?_" Alden agreed, it really didn't make any sense whatsoever. After spending a few minutes watching in awe of the spectacle before Alden pushed away from the railing.

"Do you want to go and find the others?" He asked, Maya slowly nodded and pushed away and followed him. They found Nite and Aegan on the lower level standing by the tables. "Hi guys." Alden said as they approached.

"Hi!" Nite said waving. She turned to Aegan and they smiled at each other before turning back. "How's your evening been?"

Alden paused... "Weird" he managed to reply, which he thought was a pretty accurate assumption.

"I bet." Aegan said grinning at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alden said frowning.

"Well, you told us you weren't any good at dancing." Nite said pointedly smirking at him.

"I didn't think I was." He said.

"Well everyone knows that's not the case anymore." Aegan said looking over their shoulders. Alden and Maya turned to see Yang talking to some students from another academy, but she very unsubtly winked and flashed them a thumbs up. They turned back with their cheeks burning.

Nite's eyebrows lowered as she looked back at Yang. "Those people give me the creeps." She said referring to the people Yang as talking too.

"Why's that?" Alden asked. Nite held open her palm and her Aura shaped into a small pale grey orb.

"Their… dull… It might just be interference from everyone else, but I can't feel them, I can even feel Yang." She said, the orb shimmered to become a bright green.

"That's… weird." Maya said frowning, "But, if Yang likes them, I guess they must be Okay?"

"Maybe…" Nite said but she didn't look convinced.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Yang offered to dance with him and ended up teasing him all the way through. He talked to Ruby and Weiss for a while before retiring back up to the balcony and calmly watching the dancing crowds below. He was enjoying the solitude amongst the chaos, having to stifle a few yawns as being with just so many people had sapped all his remaining energy.

His ears twitched behind him when her heard someone come to stand beside him. His eyes twitched and widened slightly when he saw Professor Ozpin resting on his cane looking over the railing with him. He turned back waiting from him to say something, but his eyes snapped back.

_The cane._

He had seen it before… where had he seen it before? Suddenly felt a painful rush shoot from the top of his brain down his spine and he winced. Ozpin cocked his head to look at him but didn't say anything. Alden's eyes began to burn and he pushed his palms into them in the hopes to dull the pain. His heartbeat accelerated and he started feeling sick.

He was standing back in the old farmhouse, the dark blades shimmering around his wrists looking down at the cooling body beneath him, the same cane slowly rolling out of their opening hand. There was a bright flash and he was suddenly standing in a large dark hall. He looked out one of the huge arched windows in between the huge pillars to see clouds but they were a sickly purple colour and flashing with red lightning… that was definitely not normal.

He heard a voice- smooth as silk, yet so rough it felt like sandpaper was trying to ram it's way though his ears. His hands raced to cover his ears in a desperate attempt to at least muffle it.

"So… Finally, you return to me…" It said Alden recognised it as female but it didn't seem to be originating from anywhere except inside his head. "It's been too long…" HE couldn't pin why but the voice made his blood run cold in fear. This had to be a dream, then only way it could be explained. But in his dreams his unconsciousness provided him some protection, he felt like he was just observing. But here… no Alden was awake alright. The voice spoke up again, and Alden felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"Welcome back… Welcome _Home_…"


End file.
